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The true crime category has a new medium, or perhaps even a completely fresh vocabulary and structure: police body cam footage. Countenances of those harmed, observers and possible perpetrators appear suddenly to the cameras, at times in the intense brightness of headlights or flashlights as the police arrive, their faces and voices eloquent of wariness or panic or anger or suspiciously contrived innocence. And we often catch sight of the expressions of the law enforcement personnel, one waiting impassively while the other asks the questions with what sometimes seems like remarkable hesitation – though maybe this is because they are aware they are being recorded.

An Emerging Pattern in Non-Fiction Cinema

We have previously seen the Netflix real-life crime film The Gabby Petito Case, about the slaying of an social media personality by her partner, whose main point of interest was body cam footage and in which, as in this film, the law enforcement seemed surprisingly lenient with the suspect. There is also the acclaimed short film Incident by Bill Morrison, composed entirely of body cam film. Now comes a new film by Geeta Gandbhir about the tragic incident of a Florida mother in Ocala, Florida, a woman of colour whose children allegedly harassed and tormented her white neighbour, a local resident. In 2023, after an escalating series of neighbour-dispute incidents in which the authorities were repeatedly called, Lorincz shot Owens dead through her locked door, when the victim went to Lorincz’s house to confront her about hurling items at her children.

The Police Inquiry and Legal Context

The investigating authorities found proof that Lorincz had done internet searches into Florida’s “stand your ground” laws, which allow residents and others to use firearms if there is a significant presumption of danger. The documentary constructs its narrative with the officer recordings generated during the multiple officer calls to the scene before the shooting, and then at the disturbing and disordered incident site itself – introduced by emergency call recordings of the caller calling the police in a dramatically trembling voice. There is also police cell footage of the individual which has a chilly, queasy fascination.

Depiction of the Suspect

The film does not really imply anything too complex about Lorincz, or any mitigating factors. She is clearly unstable, although the children are heard calling her a derogatory term, an hurtful taunt. The production is showcased as an illustration of how self-defense regulations lead to senseless and tragic bloodshed. But the fact of firearm possession and the constitutional right (that longstanding U.S. legal right that a late commentator notoriously said made firearm fatalities a price worth paying) is not much highlighted.

Police Interrogation and Gun Culture

It is possible to watch the officer questioning segments here and feel surprised at how little interest the police took in this aspect. At what time did she purchase the firearm? Where (if anywhere) did she train in its use? Had she ever had occasion to fire it before? Where did she store it in the house? Could it have been easily accessible and prepared? The police aren’t shown asking any of these surely relevant questions (though they may have done in recordings that didn’t make the edit). Or is possessing a firearm so commonplace it would be like asking about kitchen appliances or bread heaters?

Arrest and Aftermath

For what appeared to her local residents a very long time, the suspect was not even taken into custody and indicted, only detained and even provided accommodation away from home for the night (another parallel, by the way, with the a prior incident). And when she was finally formally arrested in the detention area, there is an extraordinary sequence in which the individual simply refuses to stand, refuses to put her wrists out for the handcuffs, not aggressively, but with the courteously pathetic demeanor of someone whose psychological state means that she just can’t do it. Did the gentle handling up until that point led her to think that this might actually work?

Conclusion and Verdict

It was not successful; and the jury’s verdict is saved for the end titles. A very sombre portrayal of U.S. justice and consequences.