- OPD school resource officers will not carry shock gloves in OPS schools
- Shock gloves were used on 2 OPS students before the policy change
- OPS superintendent says he was unaware the gloves were being used on students
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) – Omaha Public Schools will not allow Omaha Police Department school resource officers to carry shock gloves on campus.
This was first announced in a statement by Mayor John Ewing. 3 News Now's Jeremy Fredricks confirmed it with a spokesperson for OPS and OPD – who added that SROs will have to return those gloves.
Ewing's statement said he met with local superintendents to discuss the use of Compliant Technologies' shock gloves in their schools. His statement said OPS was given the option to opt out, and the city honored that decision.
The announcement came hours after OPS Superintendent Matthew Ray sent a letter to the mayor and Omaha Police Department asking that school resource officers not carry the gloves on campus. Ray also sent letters to the mayor and police chief in Bellevue and to the Douglas County Sheriff's Office.
On Monday, community members spoke against the gloves in OPS schools at a Board of Education meeting. At that meeting, Ray said he had not informed the board about the gloves because he was not aware of their usage.
"The board did not know about this because I didn't know," Ray said on Monday.
A police report obtained Monday by 3 News Now describes an incident in May 2026 where an officer used the gloves on a middle school student at the Integrated Learning Program building.
The district provided this statement from a spokesperson: "While privacy laws prevent us from discussing specifics of a situation, the Omaha Public Schools Student Code of Conduct requires that parents/guardians shall be notified of behavior incidents, involvement with law enforcement, and/or injuries."
According to a statement from Ewing and Police Chief Todd Schmaderer, the gloves were also used against a high school student at Omaha South.
Kimara Snipes, vice president of the OPS Board of Education, was interviewed Tuesday, hours before the district formally requested the gloves be removed. She questioned why district leadership was not informed at the time of the incidents.
"It would seem as if, though, that is something that should be shared, and information should be traveling up so that the superintendent knows, so that school board members know, so that community members know," Snipes said.
In 2025, the Omaha Police Department purchased dozens of pairs of Compliant Technologies' gloves for use by its school resource officers. Last week, news broke that ICE is looking to spend up to $20 million to purchase shock gloves from the same company.
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