Omaha's largest public school district has asked police officers working in its schools to stop carrying electric shock gloves after the devices drew widespread criticism from students, parents, and local officials. The superintendent of Omaha Public Schools, Matthew Ray, made the request on 18 August, and the Omaha Police Department agreed two days later. The decision affects most middle and high schools in Nebraska's largest school district, which serves more than 50,000 students.

The gloves — formally called "generated low output voltage emitters" — deliver a painful electric shock when pressed against a person's skin for up to 15 seconds, activated by the press of a button. Unlike stun guns, they leave no burn or contact marks. Omaha police paid roughly $66,000 for 40 of the devices in 2025, and most of the department's 34 school resource officers had been trained to use them. Officers used the gloves twice during the current school year: once on a student attempting to flee after a fight, and once on a student at a special education facility who had thrown a chair at and punched a security guard. The devices have also come under national scrutiny after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced plans to spend up to $20 million procuring thousands of similar devices for its officers, a move that three Democratic members of Congress have urged the Trump administration to halt, warning the gloves could be abused and result in injury or death.

The reversal in Omaha followed a school board meeting at which roughly 30 community members spoke out against the practice, with not a single voice in favour. "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," said Nora Wessel, a senior at Omaha Central High School. School safety consultant Ken Trump cautioned that "less than lethal doesn't mean low risk," urging districts to carefully consider how the devices would be used on students with disabilities, and how parents would be informed.

Not all local authorities have followed Omaha's lead. The Bellevue Police Department, a suburban force that patrols two Omaha schools as well as its own district, said it will continue carrying the gloves, which its officers have used twice in previous years over the past three years. Bellevue's police chief, Ken Clary, defended the devices as "safe, effective and less harmful than the alternatives," adding that their presence alone sometimes encourages students to comply without a shock being delivered. Three other large metropolitan districts — Millard, Elkhorn, and Westside — that also have Omaha police resource officers had not taken action to restrict the gloves at the time of reporting.

The episode has raised broader questions about the use of emerging force technologies in school settings. Superintendent Ray acknowledged that he had only learned of the gloves shortly before acting, though emails from 2023 show the Omaha Police Department had previously notified districts of its plans. Ray said continued use of the devices "would be counterproductive" to building trust between students and law enforcement, a concern echoed by students who argued that the gloves undermine their ability to turn to resource officers for help.