Police Asked To Stop Using Electric-Shock Gloves In Nebraska Schools
Omaha Officers Drop Device After Student, Community Backlash
Omaha police have agreed to stop carrying gloves capable of delivering electric shocks while working in Nebraska’s largest public school district, following strong opposition from students, parents and community members.
The decision affects most middle and high schools in Omaha Public Schools, which serves more than 50,000 students. Superintendent Matthew Ray asked school resource officers to stop using the devices after learning about their use, and the Omaha Police Department agreed to the request two days later.
The controversy emerged after The Associated Press reported that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) planned to equip officers with the devices, known as G.L.O.V.E.s, or Generated Low Output Voltage Emitters. The technology has also been used by some jails.
Omaha Mayor John Ewing Jr and Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said the gloves had been used twice during the 2025-26 school year. In one case, an officer used a glove to stop a high school student from another school who was attempting to flee after fighting with a security guard. In the second case, it was used on a student at the district’s Integrated Learning Center for special education students after police said the student threatened staff and assaulted a security guard.
Police defended the devices as a safer alternative to other forms of force. The gloves activate when an officer presses a button and must make direct contact with a person’s skin to deliver an electric shock. Unlike Tasers, they do not leave burn or contact marks.
“We believe it is the safest use-of-force option in the rare times when it is used,” the mayor and police chief said in a joint statement.
However, the policy triggered widespread concern. Around 30 people spoke against the gloves at an Omaha school board meeting, with no one speaking in support.
“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,” Omaha Central High School senior Nora Wessel said.
School safety consultant Ken Trump warned that districts should carefully consider how such devices could affect students with disabilities or medical conditions and establish clear rules governing their use.
“Less than lethal doesn’t mean low risk,” Trump said.
Omaha police purchased 40 gloves from Compliant Technologies LLC for about $66,000 in 2025. Most of the department’s 34 school resource officers had been trained to use them.
Despite Omaha’s decision, the policy is not uniform across the metropolitan area. Bellevue Police Chief Ken Clary said his officers will continue carrying the gloves at two Omaha-area schools and within the Bellevue district, arguing that the devices have proven effective and less harmful than alternatives.
Three other large districts — Millard, Elkhorn and Westside — have not announced changes to the use of the devices by Omaha school resource officers.
The issue has also raised questions about how long school officials knew about the gloves. Ray said he learned about them only recently, but emails obtained by local station KETV showed that Omaha police notified the district in 2023 about plans to equip officers with the devices.
Ray said continued use of the gloves would be “counterproductive” to the district’s relationship with law enforcement and its efforts to maintain safe school environments.
