Omaha schools ban electric shock gloves used on two students after uproar

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Key points

• This comes just days after it emerged that school resource officers had deployed the gloves on two students during the 2025-26 school year.
• "I am now terrified that children like mine are going to be killed by these use of force items." School Authorities Say They Were Not Informed.
• On Tuesday, Superintendent Matthew Ray formally asked Omaha and Bellevue police departments to stop allowing school resource officers to carry G.L.O.V.E.
• According to police, one deployment occurred at Omaha South High School when a student who was trespassing attempted to flee after allegedly fighting with a security guard.
• Omaha Police School Resource Officers are properly trained on and carry the G.L.O.V.E.

For context, the controversy surrounding the G.L.O.V.E. Electric shock device is moving beyond federal immigration enforcement and into America's schools, with district authorities facing growing pressure to ban or restrict the technology after police confirmed it was employed on students in Omaha. After a heated Omaha Public Schools board gathering on Monday where parents, students and community members pressed district leaders to stop the apply of the devices in schools, the Omaha Police Department stated it has suspended apply of the technology in schools for now. This comes just days after it emerged that school resource officers had deployed the gloves on two students during the 2025-26 school year. The devices, officially known as the Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, deliver an electrical shock through physical contact and lately drew national attention after reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) planned a major purchase of the technology. Two Incidents in Omaha Schools Earlier this week, Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer and Mayor John Ewing provided new details regarding the two incidents in which the gloves were employed by school resource officers. According to police, one deployment occurred at Omaha South High School when a student who was trespassing attempted to flee after allegedly fighting with a security guard. Officers remarked the glove was applied to the student's wrist for concerning two seconds while detaining him. Notably, the second incident took place at the district's Integrated Learning Program, a program serving students with social, emotional, behavioral and learning challenges. Police remarked a student produced threats, threw a chair that struck a security guard, and punched the guard before the glove was deployed twice. "Omaha Police School Resource Officers are properly trained on and carry the G.L.O.V.E. As a discreet, de-escalation option specifically for the school environment, " Omaha Police Department Lieutenant Neal Bonacci informed Newsweek. "If Omaha Public Schools requests that our officers not utilize this tool, we will adhere to that request. Nevertheless, OPD officers will forever carry standard-issued equipment, including tasers, OC spray, batons, and firearms, to ensure the protection of others and themselves." The disclosures prompted sharp criticism from parents and advocacy groups. This person triggered concern concerning student safety, use-of-force policies and the potential impact on children with disabilities or underlying medical conditions. Among those speaking at Monday's session was Alexie Herman, the parent of an autistic child with epilepsy. This person questioned whether vulnerable students could be protected if officers were allowed to apply the devices. "If OPS cannot follow IEPs and 504s and their own policies regarding holds and emergency response teams, what's gonna happen when there's shock gloves involved?" she informed the board. "I am now terrified that children like mine are going to be killed by these use of force items." School Authorities Say They Were Not Informed One of the most striking revelations from the gathering was that a number of school leaders remarked they had not been informed concerning the technology. Board Vice President Kimara Snipes remarked she was "livid" after learning the devices had been introduced into schools without what she described as a formal conversation with district leadership. "If OPD decided to place a new use-of-force device inside our schools, I don't understand how that could happen without a formal conversation with the superintendent or the elected board responsible for these schools, " she remarked. Board member Gini Magnuson was similarly critical, saying: "I personally am sickened to learn our schools have been used as a test bed for a new law enforcement technology." Community speakers pressed an immediate moratorium, a policy review and greater transparency around the circumstances under which the gloves can be employed. A number of board members appeared sympathetic to those demands. Board member Bri Full remarked: "If there was a vote tonight on the use of these gloves and the use of force with tasers, with OC spray, with batons, I would vote absolutely not, " adding: "We have to get these weapons out of our school because there's not enough guidelines in place in our current contract that we have with OPD about the use of force and these weapons on our students." On Tuesday, Superintendent Matthew Ray formally asked Omaha and Bellevue police departments to stop allowing school resource officers to carry G.L.O.V.E. Devices on Omaha Public Schools property. In a message to families, Ray remarked district leaders had "heard community input and concern" and that "continued use of GLOVEs would be counterproductive to our work together, " adding that students "must be safe and feel safe." In an official note, Ewing stated OPS had been given the option to opt out of the technology and that the city would respect that decision. "OPS was given the option to opt out, and we honored that, " Ewing remarked. While describing school resource officers as an significant part of school safety efforts, Ewing stated city authorities had informed district leaders that officers carry a range of tools and that the G.L.O.V.E. Had been "the least impactful." He went on: "We value our relationship with them and will continue to listen and respond to their needs." Debate Spreads Beyond Nebraska The controversy is not confined to Omaha. In California, former Davis Police Accountability Commission Chair Dillan Horton pressed local office-holders to consider banning the technology, citing both ICE's planned acquisition and its employ by school resource officers in Omaha. Referring to reports from Nebraska, Horton wrote that Omaha police were already "responding to concerns about why they have had this technology deployed for years with school resource officers." He continued: "We don't have to wait until someone in our community is tragically injured by an officer using this technology for us to take protective action." Newsweek reached out to Horton via email for comment. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and Emma Lee-Sang.

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After a heated Omaha Public Schools board gathering on Monday where parents, students and community members pressed district leaders to stop the apply of the devices in schools, the Omaha Police Department stated it has suspended apply of the technology in schools for now.

For context, the devices, officially known as the Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, deliver an electrical shock through physical contact and lately drew national attention after reports that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) planned a major purchase of the technology.

Earlier this week, Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer and Mayor John Ewing provided new details regarding the two incidents in which the gloves were employed by school resource officers.

According to police, one deployment occurred at Omaha South High School when a student who was trespassing attempted to flee after allegedly fighting with a security guard. Officers remarked the glove was applied to the student's wrist for concerning two seconds while detaining him.

Notably, the second incident took place at the district's Integrated Learning Program, a program serving students with social, emotional, behavioral and learning challenges. Police remarked a student produced threats, threw a chair that struck a security guard, and punched the guard before the glove was deployed twice.

"Omaha Police School Resource Officers are properly trained on and carry the G.L.O.V.E. As a discreet, de-escalation option specifically for the school environment, " Omaha Police Department Lieutenant Neal Bonacci informed Newsweek.

"If Omaha Public Schools requests that our officers not utilize this tool, we will adhere to that request. Nevertheless, OPD officers will forever carry standard-issued equipment, including tasers, OC spray, batons, and firearms, to ensure the protection of others and themselves."

In practice, the disclosures prompted sharp criticism from parents and advocacy groups. This person triggered concern regarding student safety, use-of-force policies and the potential impact on children with disabilities or underlying medical conditions.

Among those speaking at Monday's session was Alexie Herman, the parent of an autistic child with epilepsy. This person questioned whether vulnerable students could be protected if officers were allowed to apply the devices.

"If OPS cannot follow IEPs and 504s and their own policies regarding holds and emergency response teams, what's gonna happen when there's shock gloves involved?" she informed the board. "I am now terrified that children like mine are going to be killed by these use of force items." School Authorities Say They Were Not Informed.

One of the most striking revelations from the session was that a number of school leaders noted they had not been informed regarding the technology.

Board Vice President Kimara Snipes remarked she was "livid" after learning the devices had been introduced into schools without what she described as a formal conversation with district leadership.

"If OPD decided to place a new use-of-force device inside our schools, I don't understand how that could happen without a formal conversation with the superintendent or the elected board responsible for these schools, " she remarked.

Board member Gini Magnuson was similarly critical, saying: "I personally am sickened to learn our schools have been used as a test bed for a new law enforcement technology."

Community speakers pressed an immediate moratorium, a policy review and greater transparency around the circumstances under which the gloves can be employed.

Notably, a number of board members appeared sympathetic to those demands. Board member Bri Full remarked: "If there was a vote tonight on the use of these gloves and the use of force with tasers, with OC spray, with batons, I would vote absolutely not, " adding: "We have to get these weapons out of our school because there's not enough guidelines in place in our current contract that we have with OPD about the use of force and these weapons on our students."

On Tuesday, Superintendent Matthew Ray formally asked Omaha and Bellevue police departments to stop allowing school resource officers to carry G.L.O.V.E. Devices on Omaha Public Schools property. In a message to families, Ray remarked district leaders had "heard community input and concern" and that "continued use of GLOVEs would be counterproductive to our work together, " adding that students "must be safe and feel safe."

In an official note, Ewing remarked OPS had been given the option to opt out of the technology and that the city would respect that decision. "OPS was given the option to opt out, and we honored that, " Ewing remarked. While describing school resource officers as an significant part of school safety efforts, Ewing stated city authorities had informed district leaders that officers carry a range of tools and that the G.L.O.V.E. Had been "the least impactful." He went on: "We value our relationship with them and will continue to listen and respond to their needs."

In practice, the controversy is not confined to Omaha. In California, former Davis Police Accountability Commission Chair Dillan Horton pressed local office-holders to consider banning the technology, citing both ICE's planned acquisition and its employ by school resource officers in Omaha.

Referring to reports from Nebraska, Horton wrote that Omaha police were already "responding to concerns about why they have had this technology deployed for years with school resource officers."

He continued: "We don't have to wait until someone in our community is tragically injured by an officer using this technology for us to take protective action." Newsweek reached out to Horton via email for comment. Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Rebecca Flood and Emma Lee-Sang.

Taken together, the developments around omaha schools ban electric shock gloves used on two students after uproar point to a situation that is still moving, and the coming days should bring more clarity.