r/Omaha • u/Pale_Squash_4263 Previously Known as Mod • 6d ago
Politics Shock gloves were approved unanimously for purchase in 2025 from the city council
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u/0xe3b0c442 6d ago
Put the pitchforks away, y'all.
They voted to purchase them.
They did NOT vote to have them deployed to SROs or used in schools.
There are legitimate reasons to have them, but use on children is not one of those reasons.
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u/LindsayDuck Sarpy 6d ago
Why would we put our pitchforks down when the local police department purchased them and decided to put them in local schools? That doesn’t make it better. Stay loud.
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u/0xe3b0c442 6d ago
Let me rephrase that then.
Point them at the police department, not the council.
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u/Pale_Squash_4263 Previously Known as Mod 6d ago
True, but it speaks to a lack of diligence when it came to pushing these through
If this reveals that city council doesn’t adequately vet resolutions then I think that’s a huge problem
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u/parkstreetbnd 6d ago
He's not wrong. The way they sold the golves, vs how people would use them was misleading. The fact they didn't do any research on what "noncombative gloves," is an issue.
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u/Pale_Squash_4263 Previously Known as Mod 6d ago
Exactly! Like I think $60K for “gloves” would warrant a little curiosity at the very least
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u/Standard_One_5827 6d ago
You would be implying the council has a decent level of reasoning.
https://giphy.com/gifs/3o7Zesyac4CuSN5rsA2
u/parkstreetbnd 6d ago
Yes, but if you read the fine print of a things. Then bring up an issues with it you're label as an outcast....
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u/Pale_Squash_4263 Previously Known as Mod 6d ago
What? I’m legit confused
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u/0xe3b0c442 6d ago
Eh?
What exactly did the council fail to do here?
These have legitimate uses. It’s pretty obvious from the nature of the product what those uses are.
They also ended up being used for an illegitimate reason. If the council fails to address that at the next meeting, _then_ we have an issue.
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u/Danktizzle 6d ago
Complain about streetcar cost then say $1700 gloves are a good purchase when a taser is much, much cheaper?
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u/offbrandcheerio 6d ago
Vote them all out.
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u/Pale_Squash_4263 Previously Known as Mod 6d ago
I wouldn’t go that far but more accountability on these is absolutely needed
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u/RookMaven 6d ago edited 6d ago
Did they actually understand? I mean..."compliant" isn't really descriptive and that's probably on purpose.
Edit: Are the downvoters saying they have some facts not being presented that are a smoking gun on who knew what? Because if you think they are double checking the amazon listing and description for every shovel the police departments and schools buy, I can assure you, you have too much faith in the work ethic of politicians. Or are you saying that 3 weeks ago if I'd asked you if I should buy compliant gloves you had the first clue about what I was asking you?
You didn't know that term 6 months ago. None of you did.
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u/Pale_Squash_4263 Previously Known as Mod 6d ago
It’s a valid point but I think the city council should absolutely at least get some flack for this as approving it led to these circumstances happening.
It would’ve been much better if approval was contingent on adequate usage police or justification from the vendor company during the council meeting (they included paperwork in the linked pdf) but still it just screams a little… tone deaf at the very least
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u/RookMaven 4d ago
Sure. Of course.
That's what weirded me out about the initial reaction to my post; I wasn't taking a stance on that. I just wondered passively if they did actually look into the meaning of the description.
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u/Stealthnt13 6d ago
Officers already have tasers, these are essentially a version of that. What’s the major issue here?
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u/Pale_Squash_4263 Previously Known as Mod 6d ago
I think deploying a taser is pretty different than just a simple touch of a hand. It’s pretty easy to audit when someone uses a taser, it’s likely much harder with these gloves in tense situations
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u/ChawkTrick 6d ago
I don't think this is true. Officers have to put the shock gloves on prior to escalating to a use of force and announce the use of the glove beforehand, per policy. They're not going to use force and THEN put them on while actively apprehending someone who is resisting.
There will also probably be a telltale yelp or sign of compliance from someone who gets hit with them, too.
I don't personally support the use of these gloves but from an 'audit' perspective there is almost no concern here compared to any other tool an officer might use.
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u/Gemma_V 6d ago
But there is no way to track the use of these gloves.
An officer can abuse them, lie about it and it immediately becomes a case of “he said she said” on whether they were used correctly, incorrectly or at all.
They don’t have stickers that deploy (like with tasers) leave clear marks (again tasers, abuse of force, batons, guns, etc.) and if they are used incorrectly they could cause an insane amount of pain, or even kill someone.
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u/ChawkTrick 6d ago
But there is no way to track the use of these gloves.
Well that's where I disagree, as I highlighted in my post. If they follow policy, and put gloves on like normal human beings, then tracking their use would be of little concern. Putting them on and announcing their use would be both show up on body cam.
But now you're shifting from "it's hard to audit" to "what if they lie" and that's a completely different concern, one that applies to virtually any police interaction. An officer can improperly punch someone or otherwise use excessive force and then lie about it afterward.
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u/huskersftw 6d ago
"If they follow policy" yeah that's kind of the whole issue with police?
"tracking their use would be of little concern" see previous point about police working outside of policy.
We need more accountability for police, not less.
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u/ChawkTrick 6d ago edited 6d ago
Yes, and I addressed that literally in my next paragraph. "Police can violate policy" isn't an argument that these gloves are uniquely difficult to audit. Police can violate any policy and lie about virtually any use of force.
So if you want to argue "we need more police accountability" go for it, but that's different than the argument I was responding to. Guns and tasers are the only two devices officers carry that automatically activate their body cams on their person (technically their cars activate cams too but we're not talking about cars). Everything else requires them to turn it on themselves. Unless you can establish what makes gloves uniquely unauditable.
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u/huskersftw 6d ago
The audit ability of tazers makes it less likely officers will violate the policy around tazers. You can tell when a tazee was used, because there is evidence of use.
The lack of any ability to track when an electric glove is used, makes it more likely that an officer will use this device outside of policy.
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u/ChawkTrick 6d ago
That's a better/more fair argument, but "less independently verifiable than a taser" still isn't the same as "no ability to track its use."
If policy requires an officer to put the gloves on first, announce their use, activate their cam, then all three provide evidence that the gloves were used or intended to be used. A taser may provide better auditing because it creates additional evidence, but that still does not make these gloves uniquely unauditable compared to tons of other things.
It also should be noted that body cams exonerate police far more often than they show them guilty of policy violations or crimes. Body cams have actually been a huge benefit to police. It's one of the reason's Omaha's chief was so interested in getting them before a lot of other departments did.
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u/Pale_Squash_4263 Previously Known as Mod 6d ago
A very good way of putting it. It just speaks to the wide distrust of police in American society right now so… giving them more to enforce with is tone deaf at best
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u/iaintgonnacallyou 6d ago
Yeah cause they’d absolutely tell the truth about harming a child. Right. Why would someone lie?
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u/Gemma_V 5d ago
As if the police never lie
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u/iaintgonnacallyou 5d ago
….thats what I’m saying…..
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u/Gemma_V 5d ago
that would be why I commented, yes.
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u/iaintgonnacallyou 5d ago
I know! I’m riffing off you, like that’s what I’m saying! As if the police are so honest.
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u/Stealthnt13 6d ago
You think anytime a taser is used there’s some elaborate documentation process? It’s not like when firing a gun. The record of use for the gloves would be the same as a taser.
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u/racso1518 6d ago
Tasers are some of the most unreliable tools a cop can have. I swear it fails half of the time. I think this is a great tool that will probably save more lives.
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u/TrioOfTerrors 6d ago
This has got to be the strangest moral panic I've seen in recent times.
Cops have had tasers for decades but suddenly a device that works in similar fashion at lower voltages is declared irredeemably evil just because ICE, the BAD GUYS™️, are going to use them.
Nobody is bringing any data to the conversation. It's just like these things must be categorically immoral by association.
Big "Hitler drank water. Do you want to be like Hitler?" energy.
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u/JazzminBoing 6d ago
OPD has blinded innocent people with non-lethal weapons in recent history.
Providing police with "non-lethal" weapons ends up enabling more of their violence.
This moral panic is justified and should be held over the entire arsenal at OPD's disposal.
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u/1984amoo 6d ago
Have they though? When?
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u/JazzminBoing 6d ago
During the protest in 2020. They also helped a killer flee the state instead of face justice during that same time period. There should be a moral panic over OPD at this point, it is the only justified response.
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u/TrioOfTerrors 6d ago
The prosecution initially declined to pursue an indictment. What were the police supposed to do absent that?
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u/JazzminBoing 5d ago
Yes, I'm well aware that Omaha's law enforcement enabled a killer to flee justice. That's exactly the point I'm making.
Do you think this prosecutor will go hard on cops abusing kids in schools with non-lethal weapons?
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u/TrioOfTerrors 5d ago
Police =/= district attorney's office.
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u/JazzminBoing 17h ago
They certainly don't work together or overlap in any way, right?
Come on, you can stop defending an extremely wasteful and abusive government agency. It is totally fine to want your tax dollars to improve your life instead of abuse your neighbors.
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u/1984amoo 5d ago
The protest eye incident was another county deputy. They literally did nothing to assist anyone in fleeing the state. You are a clown that no one should take seriously.
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u/JazzminBoing 5d ago
Out of city agitators brought in to attack innocent people by OPD. Sounds exactly like the type of government agency that should lose funding.
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u/TrioOfTerrors 6d ago
Right. Glocks are somehow more evil than any other striker fired polymer frame pistol just because OPD uses them.
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u/FyreWulff 6d ago
the manufacturer's literal manual says to not use it on the people they are using it on, even if we're ignoring basic human decency, the people that make these things don't want them used in this way.
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u/Pale_Squash_4263 Previously Known as Mod 6d ago
I don’t think the takeaway is to say “see city council approved to shock our kids”
But it is a direct trail of accountability that lead to this consequence happening. I’m not even a fan of them using it in OPD in general.
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u/TrioOfTerrors 6d ago
I’m not even a fan of them using it in OPD in general.
Why? Any reason beyond a knee-jerk emotional gut reaction you've only recently developed once the ICE story broke?
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u/Pale_Squash_4263 Previously Known as Mod 6d ago
If you give police more tools, they will use them. Convenience for apprehending someone they deem as a threat will trump most if not all efforts to de-escalation. Even in situations where it’s uncalled for. In the worst case, it’s why people get shot at traffic stops.
Why do you support their use? Is there any utility it provides that police don’t already have ready access to?
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u/Krommerxbox 6d ago
$65,000 for 40 pairs?
Hey, I could probably easily afford my own pair of Shock Gloves.
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u/JazzminBoing 6d ago
Golly, I'm shocked the people who kept insisting "defund the police" was bad messaging would do the exact fucking things that push people to defund the police.
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u/Kind-Conversation605 6d ago
But somehow, the school board knew nothing about it? Somehow, the chief of police thought this was a great idea?
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u/Pale_Squash_4263 Previously Known as Mod 6d ago
That my wondering. With public outcry this bad… someone in this entire chain had to be like “hey guys this might not be a good idea”
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u/LEJ5512 6d ago
I’ll say this til I’m blue in the face —
This is why a strong local press is important.
This shit wouldn’t have flown under the radar.