1 week ago
Omaha Police Stop Electric-Shock Gloves In Public Schools
Omaha police officers were carrying special gloves that can give someone a small electric shock.
The gloves were used twice at schools during the 2025-26 school year.
Police said the gloves were safer than some other ways of stopping people.
Many students, parents and community members disagreed and said the devices could hurt students or make schools feel unsafe.
About 30 people spoke against the gloves at a school board meeting.
The school superintendent asked police to stop using them in Omaha Public Schools.
Police agreed two days later.
Another nearby police department, in Bellevue, plans to keep using the gloves.
Officials are also debating whether the district knew about the gloves earlier than the superintendent said it did.
Omaha police agreed to stop carrying electric-shock gloves in most middle and high schools after opposition from students, parents and community members.
Superintendent Matthew Ray requested the change after learning about the devices, but emails indicate police notified the district about them in 2023.
Police said the gloves were used twice during the 2025-26 school year, including during incidents involving a fleeing student and an assault on a security guard.
Omaha police bought 40 gloves for about $66,000 in 2025, and most of its 34 school resource officers were trained to use them.
Bellevue police will continue carrying the gloves, while Millard, Elkhorn and Westside districts have not announced changes.
- Who
- Omaha Police Department, Omaha Public Schools, Superintendent Matthew Ray, and students, parents and community members.
- What
- Omaha police agreed to stop carrying electric-shock gloves in most Omaha public schools.
- Where
- Omaha Public Schools in Omaha, Nebraska; Bellevue will continue using the gloves in some schools.
- When
- The decision followed two uses during the 2025-26 school year; police agreed to the superintendent’s request two days after it was made.
- Why
- The superintendent cited concerns about the devices’ effect on the district’s relationship with law enforcement and its efforts to maintain safe schools, while police defended them as a safer force option.
Critics Of Electric-Shock Gloves
Supporters Of Electric-Shock Gloves
Safety and student well-being
Critics Of Electric-Shock Gloves
Students, parents and community members said electric-shock devices are inappropriate in schools and could undermine a safe environment, especially for students with disabilities or medical conditions.
Supporters Of Electric-Shock Gloves
Omaha’s mayor and police chief said the gloves are the safest use-of-force option when force is rarely necessary, and Bellevue’s police chief said they are less harmful than alternatives.
Effect on school-police relationships
Critics Of Electric-Shock Gloves
Superintendent Matthew Ray said continued use would be counterproductive to the district’s relationship with law enforcement and its efforts to maintain safe schools.
Supporters Of Electric-Shock Gloves
Police departments continuing to carry the gloves argue that having the devices gives officers an effective option for responding to fights, assaults and attempts to flee.
District knowledge and oversight
Critics Of Electric-Shock Gloves
Ray said he learned about the gloves only recently, while emails obtained by KETV showed Omaha police notified the district in 2023 about plans to equip officers with them, raising questions about communication and oversight.
Supporters Of Electric-Shock Gloves
The police notification and prior training indicate the department had taken steps to introduce the devices, though the articles do not describe the district’s response to the 2023 notice.
Key facts
- Affected district
- Omaha Public Schools, which serves more than 50,000 students.
- Device name
- G.L.O.V.E.s, meaning Generated Low Output Voltage Emitters.
- Reported uses
- The gloves were used twice during the 2025-26 school year.
- Purchase
- Omaha police bought 40 gloves for about $66,000 in 2025.
- Officer training
- Most of the department’s 34 school resource officers had been trained to use the gloves.
- Community response
- Around 30 people spoke against the devices at an Omaha school board meeting, with no speakers in support.
- Regional policy
- Bellevue police will continue carrying the gloves at two Omaha-area schools and in the Bellevue district.
Quotes
John Ewing Jr and Todd Schmaderer
Omaha mayor and police chief
“We believe it is the safest use-of-force option in the rare times when it is used”
deccanchronicle.com
“Less than lethal doesn’t mean low risk”
deccanchronicle.com
Nora Wessel
Omaha Central High School senior
“I can’t even imagine walking down the hallway and seeing a peer of mine being electrocuted in a place that is supposed to be a safe space for students”
deccanchronicle.com
Sources
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