The ACLU of Nebraska urged the Omaha City Council to reconsider permanent police presence in schools as the city weighs renewing its school resource officer agreements. Policy strategist Jason Witmer argued that students of color and students with disabilities are disproportionately pulled into arrests, suspensions and the criminal legal system, calling permanent police presence in schools a threat to students’ civil rights and liberties. The hearing comes weeks after scrutiny over Omaha school resource officers carrying electric shock gloves. Police acknowledged the devices were used twice on Omaha Public Schools students during the 2025-26 school year, with one instance involving a student with a disability.
