ICE's plan to give officers electric shock gloves draws outrage and fears of misuse

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s plan to give officers gloves that deliver painful electric shocks is facing criticism from Democratic elected officials and civil rights advocates, who call it unnecessary and cruel ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) plans to spend up to US$20 million on electric-shock gloves designed to help officers quickly gain compliance from individuals. ICE plans to spend between $10 million and $20 million to outfit officers and agents with “conductive distraction and de-escalation devices,” according to a notice published Monday and revealed first by The Associated Press.

The devices known as the G.L.O.V.E. function are normal patrol gloves until an officer presses a button to activate its electrical mode. They must be applied directly to someone’s skin to produce a voltage that causes pain, which is intended to gain compliance from people who are resisting.

Unlike Tasers, they do not leave burn or contact marks. New York AG says she is ‘outraged’ by plan The size of the purchase suggests ICE plans to give the device to most or all of its officers. The gloves have been used by local departments more often in jails than in the streets, where ICE officers have increasingly used force to extract people from cars and faced protests over their actions carrying out President Donald Trump’s crackdown on illegal immigration.

“We are outraged,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said at a news conference Wednesday, where she warned that ICE officers who misuse the gloves in her state could face criminal and civil consequences. The Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent agency, issued a statement that did not mention the product specifically or explain why it had been chosen. “ICE is constantly assessing the needs of our officers in the field to ensure they have the tools and equipment necessary to safely arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens from our country,” the statement said.

“Every decision is made with careful consideration and appropriately reviewed to ensure that any technology ICE utilizes is consistent with all applicable law enforcement policies and standards.” Lawsuit alleges shocks from gloves contributed to man’s death While the devices are marketed as nonlethal and safe for the heart, a pending lawsuit alleges a 43-year-old man died in 2024 after he was shocked 27 times with the gloves and 13 more times by a Taser at a jail in Richmond, Kentucky. An internal investigation found two of the glove shocks lasted 45 and 99 seconds apiece — far more than the manuf… Unlike Tasers, they do not leave burn or contact marks.New York AG says she is ‘outraged' by planThe size of the purchase suggests ICE plans to give the device to most or all of its officers.