The Perfect Neighbor Review: Examining a Infamous Incident Via the Lens of a State Cop's Body-Cam

The true crime category has a new medium, or perhaps even a completely fresh vocabulary and grammar: officer-worn camera recordings. Countenances of those harmed, observers and potential offenders loom up to the cameras, at times in the intense brightness of vehicle beams or flashlights as the police arrive, their faces and voices eloquent of wariness or fear or indignation or suspiciously contrived innocence. And we often catch sight of the faces of the officers themselves, one waiting impassively while the other conducts the inquiry with what sometimes seems like extraordinary diffidence – though perhaps this is because they know they are being recorded.

A Growing Trend in Documentary Filmmaking

We have already had the Netflix true-crime documentary The Gabby Petito Case, about the slaying of an social media personality by her partner, whose main point of interest was officer recordings and in which, as in this film, the law enforcement seemed extraordinarily lax 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 Ajike Owens in Ocala, Florida, a woman of colour whose four young kids reportedly bothered and tormented her white neighbour, Susan Lorincz. In 2023, after an escalating series of neighborhood conflicts in which the authorities were summoned multiple times, Lorincz fatally shot Owens through her locked door, when the victim went to the neighbor's residence to address her about hurling items at her children.

The Police Inquiry and Legal Context

The investigating authorities found proof that the suspect had done online research into the state's self-defense statutes, which permit residents and others to shoot if there is a significant presumption of danger. The documentary constructs its narrative with the body cam footage captured during the repeated police visits to the scene before the shooting, and then at the horrific and chaotic crime scene itself – introduced by 911 audio material of Lorincz contacting authorities in a dramatically trembling voice. There is also police cell footage of Lorincz which has a chilly, queasy fascination.

Depiction of the Suspect

The documentary does not really imply anything too complicated about the neighbor, or any mitigating factors. She is clearly unstable, although the children are heard calling her “the Karen”, an hurtful taunt. The film is presented as an illustration of how “stand your ground” laws generate senseless and tragic violence. But the fact of firearm possession and the constitutional right (that historic American constitutional privilege that a deceased pundit famously claimed made gun deaths a price worth paying) is not much highlighted.

Officer Questioning and Gun Culture

It is possible to watch the police interrogation scenes here and feel surprised at how little interest the officers took in this aspect. When did she buy her gun? Did she receive any instruction on handling it? Was this the first time she discharged the weapon? Where did she store it in the house? Was it just on the couch, loaded and ready? The authorities aren’t shown asking any of these undoubtedly important questions (though they could have inquired in recordings that were not included). Or is gun ownership so normal it would be like asking about kitchen appliances or bread heaters?

Detention and Consequences

For what seemed to her neighbors a extended period, the suspect was not even arrested and charged, only held and even offered a hotel stay away from home for the night (another parallel, incidentally, with the Gabby Petito case). And when she was finally officially taken into custody in the detention area, there is an remarkable scene in which the individual simply refuses to stand, will not extend her arms for the cuffs, not aggressively, but with the politely self-pitying air of someone whose mental health means that she just can’t do it. Had the kid-gloves treatment up until that point led her to think that this could be effective?

Conclusion and Verdict

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