We have demonstrated a stress gettering mechanism in semi‐insulating, copper‐contaminated gallium arsenide (GaAs) using cathodoluminescence (CL), thermally stimulated current spectroscopy (TSC), and low temperature Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). Cathodoluminescence shows a local gettering effect around dislocation cores in bulk semi‐insulating GaAs qualitatively. This gettering result was confirmed by low temperature FTIR data, which show absorption features resulting from the transition of electrons from the valence band to copper levels. The energy level of each absorption shoulder corresponds to the various copper levels in GaAs. After gettering, the absorption depth at each shoulder decreases. Thermally stimulated current measurements show changes after copper doping. The characteristic returns to that of uncontaminated GaAs after gettering. On the basis of these qualitative and quantitative data, we conclude that copper was gettered, and we propose a stress gettering mechanism in semi‐insulating, copper‐contaminated GaAs on the basis of dislocation cores acting as localized gettering sites.