Omaha police have officially agreed to stop carrying electric shock gloves within the halls of Nebraska's largest public school district, which serves more than 50,000 students. The decision follows a formal request made on 18 August by Matthew Ray, the superintendent of Omaha Public Schools, who asked that school resource officers cease using the devices. The police department confirmed its compliance two days later.
These devices, officially known as “generated low output voltage emitters,” were originally intended to help officers maintain control during incidents where individuals refused to follow commands. The Omaha police department had previously acquired 40 of these gloves in 2025 through a contract with the manufacturer, Compliant Technologies LLC, at a cost of approximately $66,000. Most of the Omaha police department’s 34 school resource officers had been trained and were allowed to use the gloves, the mayor and the police chief, Todd Schmaderer, said in a statement. According to department statements, officers were trained to provide warnings before using the gloves, which deliver an electric shock when pressed directly against skin for up to 15 seconds. Unlike stun guns, these devices are designed not to leave burn marks.
During the 2025-26 school year, Omaha police reported using the gloves on two occasions. In one instance, an officer used the device to prevent a high school student from escaping after a physical altercation with a security guard. In a second case, a student at an integrated learning center for special education was shocked after allegedly threatening and physically attacking a security guard. Despite these incidents, Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer and Mayor John Ewing Jr. stated that the department would respect the district's decision to “opt out” of the program. Officers will continue to carry other standard tools, including stun guns, batons, pepper spray, and firearms.
While Omaha has moved to end the practice, the policy is not uniform across the metro area. The Bellevue police department, which patrols two Omaha schools and the Bellevue district, confirmed that its officers will continue to carry the gloves. Bellevue Police Chief Ken Clary defended the decision, describing the gloves as a “safe, effective and less harmful” alternative to other force options. Bellevue school district spokesperson Amanda Oliver noted that the district maintains a strong relationship with local police and does not see a need for change.
The pushback against the devices was significant at a recent school board meeting, where approximately 30 attendees—including parents and students—expressed strong opposition. Nora Wessel, a senior at Omaha Central high school, voiced concerns that the presence of such weapons creates a barrier between students and the resource officers they should be able to trust. Ken Trump, president of National School Safety and Security Services, emphasized that “less than lethal” does not equate to “low risk,” suggesting that school districts should engage in deeper discussions regarding the use of such technology on students, particularly those with special needs.
Though Superintendent Ray said in a school board meeting on 17 August and in a letter to the public schools community that he’d only learned about the gloves the previous week, records found by KETV indicate that the Omaha police had notified school districts of their intent to use the equipment as early as 2023. At that time, an official with the Omaha district acknowledged familiarity with the devices due to their prior use by Bellevue police in schools.
The AP left messages seeking comment from the Millard, Elkhorn and Westside districts that are also patrolled by Omaha officers.
At the school board meeting, about 30 people spoke out against police using the gloves. Residents and board members alike said they were appalled at the practice. No one spoke in favor of it.
