One year after her autistic son was strangled by a school resource officer in Rochester, the boy's mother, Amanda Felda, said she is still haunted by the lack of justice she feels her family received. 

With Indiana's statute of limitations being two years, Felda still hasn't given up hope just yet. 

At the time of the incident on December 2, 2021, Felda agreed that her 17-year-old son, Benjamin Giselbach, did act inappropriately. Showing up to a chaotic scene, it would eventually take more than seven officers around him trying to subdue Ben. Felda said the behavior was something she never condoned.

Diagnosed with autism at a young age, among several other mental disorders, Ben had been notoriously prone to outbursts throughtout the years while attending schools in the Rochester Community School Corporation. Felda said Ben's behavioral disorders were something not many could understand, and that he was often bullied by other students for it. Unable to handle his emotions, Felda said her sons temper was often very hard to extinguish once he was pushed over the edge.

Felda had initially sided with the officers, after seeing Ben biting, kicking, and screaming at officers before being arrested. Originally thinking her son started the altercation, it wasn't until months later, after finally obtaining the body cam footage from that afternoon, that Felda said she saw a different side to the story. 

In 2020, after a 13-year old autistic boy was shot and killed by police in Salt Lake City, Utah, during an emotional meltdown that went out of control, the Autism Society of America made an immediate call-to-action for better law enforcement training about autism, and the implementation of de-escalation techniques for accountability was requested from the Salt Lake Police Department. Their website at www.autism-society.org made a statement that 'community services and supports are essential for individuals and families with autism. When a parent, caretaker, or autistic individual relies on first responders to provide crisis intervention, they should not have to worry whether their lives are in danger from the trained professionals sent to help.' Felda hopes for something similar in the area for the future. 

According to the ASA, approximately one in five young adults with autism spectrum disorder will have some sort of negative interaction with a police officer before the age of 21. Due to their anti-social skills, police interactions with autistic individuals can lead to more injuries because of their impulsive and unpredicatable reactions, making them five times more likely to be incarcerated than individuals without the disability. 

Having an aide at school to help Ben keep his meltdowns in check, Felda said the SRO still chose to handle the confrontation by himself, initially. Felda also said Ben's outbursts were something the SRO had been familiar with, having known her son and his condition since he was 7 years old.

After Ben had left school without permission, Felda said the SRO had chased her son down, stopping him off school property. Although Ben was cursing at the officer, Felda claimed that Ben was never told he was under arrest prior to being strangled multiple times by the SRO. Yelling back at Ben, and physically pushing him after getting out of his patrol car, Felda said things quickly spiraled out of control. 

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While Felda agreed that her son did need to be held accountable for his actions that day, she was left wondering why a school official wouldn't be expected to do the same. 

Now almost 19-years-old, Felda hopes Ben learns from the situation to better his life in the future. 

Last year, the Fulton County Sheriff’s office sent a letter to the student's family stating the department would not take up any further action on the complaint. In the meantime, Felda said she's still looking for a lawyer to represent the case before time runs out. Felda said over the past year she's received a lot of pushback from many community members who misunderstood her frustrations with the situation, accusing her of being someone that hates police officers, or condones her child's misbehavior.

Felda said she still has the utmost respect for law enforcement officers, including the Fulton County Sheriff's Department, who put their lives on the line each day to keep our community safe.

When recently asked by GIANT fm News and the Fulton County Post, the Fulton County Sheriff's Department declined to comment on the situation.