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Omaha, Nebraska: Parents Fight to Remove Electric Shock Gloves From Schools as Millard Keeps Them

Omaha Public Schools took the gloves off its campuses in August. In neighboring Millard, parents say district leaders told them the devices are staying, and they are organizing to change that answer.

By Orbit Post3 min read
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Omaha, Nebraska: Parents Fight to Remove Electric Shock Gloves From Schools as Millard Keeps Them

Key points

  • Parents in Millard, an Omaha suburb, are asking their district to take electric shock gloves off officers in its schools.
  • The device is the G.L.O.V.E., short for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, made by Compliant Technologies of Lexington, Kentucky.
  • Omaha and Bellevue police describe the shock at 324 to 362 volts, for one to 15 seconds, only after verbal commands.

Parents in Millard, an Omaha suburb, are asking their district to take electric shock gloves off officers in its schools. Omaha Public Schools, Nebraska's largest district, had the gloves removed in August. Millard, next door, kept them. A CNN report on October 23, 2026 gave the fight national attention.

What the gloves are

The device is the G.L.O.V.E., short for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, made by Compliant Technologies of Lexington, Kentucky. An officer presses a button and touches bare skin, delivering a shock meant to stop resistance.

Omaha and Bellevue police describe the shock at 324 to 362 volts, for one to 15 seconds, only after verbal commands. CNN reported the company puts the maximum at 380 volts and its manual advises against use on small children.

How they reached Omaha schools

Omaha police requested the purchase in May 2025, and the City Council approved it without debate on June 3, 2025. The city paid $65,924 for 40 pairs from the police share of federal asset forfeiture money. By August 14, 2026, officers carried the gloves at 29 of the 34 schools where Omaha police provide resource officers.

How often they have been used

CNN reported that officers across the Omaha area have used the gloves on students at least five times since 2022, including a middle schooler in an integrated program for children with special needs.

Mayor John Ewing Jr. and Police Chief Todd Schmaderer said Omaha police used the gloves twice in the 2025-2026 school year. In one case, an officer stopped a fleeing student after a fight with a security guard. In the second, the glove was used on a student at the district Integrated Learning Center, a special education program, after the student threw a chair at a guard and struck the guard. The two defended the device: "We believe it is the safest use-of-force option in the rare times when it is used."

Omaha said no, Millard said keep them

Superintendent Matthew Ray has said he learned of the gloves only in the week of August 10, 2026, though KETV obtained emails showing police notified districts in 2023. On August 17, 2026, Voices for Children in Nebraska, the Education Rights Counsel and the ACLU of Nebraska issued a joint statement against the gloves in schools.

On August 18, 2026, Ray asked city and police leaders to end authorization for the gloves on district property. Omaha police agreed. The district said continued use would be counterproductive to its work with police.

Bellevue police did not agree. Their officers staff Bryan Middle and Bryan High, two Omaha district schools inside Bellevue, and Chief Ken Clary said they would keep the gloves. "I am not comfortable having our officers give up a tool that has repeatedly proven to be safe, effective, and less harmful than the alternatives," Clary said.

In Millard, parents took the same request to a board meeting in September and say they were shut down. "Here's our stance: We're keeping them," is the answer Rachel Murphy says the board gave her, in CNN's account. Katy Eilers said her 16-year-old son at Millard North High School is scared. "He's scared he's going to get shocked. He's scared one of his friends is going to get shocked," she told CNN.

The Flatwater Free Press found that Omaha area school resource officers have used force on students at least 63 times since 2021, on students as young as 11 and 12. California has banned the gloves, CNN noted. Millard parents plan to keep speaking at the board until the district changes its answer.

Timeline

  1. Jun 3, 2025The Omaha City Council approves the purchase of 40 pairs of G.L.O.V.E. devices for $65,924 as part of its consent agenda, paid from the police department share of federal asset forfeiture money.
  2. Aug 17, 2026More than 20 people address the Omaha Public Schools board about the gloves. Voices for Children in Nebraska, the Education Rights Counsel and the ACLU of Nebraska issue a joint statement against electrified gloves in schools.
  3. Aug 18, 2026Superintendent Matthew Ray writes to city and police leaders asking that resource officers no longer be authorized to carry the gloves on Omaha Public Schools property.
  4. Aug 20, 2026Omaha police agree to the request for Omaha Public Schools buildings. Bellevue Police Chief Ken Clary declines for Bryan Middle School and Bryan High School and says his officers will keep carrying the gloves.
  5. Sep 2026Millard parents press their school board to remove the gloves. The district holds its position and keeps the devices with its resource officers.
  6. Oct 23, 2026CNN reports that Millard parents are still fighting to get the gloves out of their schools, while Omaha Public Schools keeps its August ban in place.

Sources