Omaha Police agree to stop using electric shock gloves in public schools

The Omaha Police Department has agreed to stop its school resource officers from carrying electric shock gloves in Omaha Public Schools, following a request from Superintendent Matthew Ray and significant public backlash. The decision, announced this week, applies to the district's middle and high schools and comes after it was revealed that the devices had been used on two students during the previous school year.

The gloves, known as G.L.O.V.E.s or Generated Low Output Voltage Emitters, deliver an electric shock through direct skin contact. Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer and Mayor John Ewing said the devices were used twice in the 2025-2026 school year. In one incident, an officer used the glove on a high school student from another school who allegedly fought with a security guard and attempted to flee. In a second case at the district's Integrated Learning Program, which serves students with behavioral and learning challenges, an officer deployed the glove twice on a student who had thrown a chair and punched a guard.

The controversy intensified after a school board meeting on August 18, where approximately 30 residents, parents, and students spoke against the devices....