Omaha Public Schools, Nebraska's largest school district, has asked police to stop using electric shock gloves on students — and the department agreed. The decision affects most Omaha middle and high schools and came just days before the start of the new school year.

Superintendent Matthew Ray requested this week that school resource officers (SROs) stop carrying the devices, known as Generated Low Output Voltage Emitters (G.L.O.V.E.s). He said he had only learned of the gloves the previous week, though local TV station KETV found emails from 2023 in which the Omaha Police Department notified districts of its plan to equip officers with the gloves.

The gloves activate when an officer presses a button and must make direct skin contact to deliver a painful electric shock designed to make a resisting person comply. Officers were required to give a verbal warning before use, and contact could last up to 15 seconds. Unlike Tasers, the gloves leave no burn or contact marks.

Omaha police used the gloves twice during the 2025-2026 school year. In one case, an officer used a glove to stop a high school student from escaping after a fight with a security guard. In the second case, the glove was used on a student at the district's Integrated Learning Center — a special education program — after the student made verbal threats, threw a chair at a security guard, struck the guard in the head, and then punched the guard.

The Omaha Police Department held a news conference last week demonstrating the gloves, saying the devices helped officers quickly gain control of someone refusing commands with minimal force. Mayor John Ewing Jr. and Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said in a joint statement that most of the department's 34 school resource officers had been trained and authorized to use them.

"We believe it is the safest use-of-force option in the rare times when it is used," the statement said.

In 2025, the city paid Compliant Technologies LLC, the gloves' manufacturer, about $66,000 for 40 gloves.

At a school board meeting on Monday (August 18), about 30 community members spoke against the practice. Not one person spoke in favor of it. Nora Wessel, a senior at Omaha Central High School, addressed the board directly.

"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," Wessel said. "Yet, this is now a very real possibility. These are adults we are supposed to be able to trust, but these weapons create a barrier for our students to turn to resource officers when needed."

Ray acknowledged the district's close ties to law enforcement but said continued use of the gloves "would be counterproductive to our work together." Mayor Ewing confirmed police have honored the district's decision to "opt out." Officers will continue to carry Tasers, batons, OC spray, and firearms.

The situation is not uniform across the metro area. The suburban Bellevue Police Department, which patrols two Omaha schools and the larger Bellevue school district, said its officers will continue carrying the gloves. Bellevue Police Chief Ken Clary stood firm in his department's position.

"I am not comfortable having our officers give up a tool that has repeatedly proven to be safe, effective, and less harmful than the alternatives," Clary said.

Bellevue schools spokeswoman Amanda Oliver echoed that stance. "We've got a great communication and dialogue that we have with them consistently. And so for us right now, no changes are being made," Oliver said.

Three other large metro-area school districts — Millard, Elkhorn, and Westside — also have Omaha police resource officers assigned to their buildings and have not yet moved to restrict use of the gloves.

Omaha Public Schools serves more than 50,000 students. It remains unclear whether any other school districts across the country have used the devices. The broader conversation about G.L.O.V.E.s in schools is expected to continue as the new school year gets underway.

Kerry Collins