U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) awarded a no-bid contract worth $16.7 million to acquire 6,000 gloves capable of delivering electric shocks—a new use-of-force tool the agency intends to use to subdue individuals who resist during arrests, transfers, and disturbances in detention centers, CBS News reported.
The contract, signed last Wednesday and made public on Thursday, runs for six months and was awarded to Compliant Technologies LLC, a Kentucky-based company. Each glove cost $2,495, and the agreement also included support equipment and services.
The devices, known as GLOVE (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter), function like conventional gloves until the officer activates an electrical mechanism. Upon direct contact with the skin, they can deliver a painful shock intended to compel compliance.
According to procurement documents, ICE classified the gloves as “conductive distraction and de-escalation devices” and maintained that they would offer a lower-impact alternative to firearms or other uses of force. The agency noted that they could be used when an individual offers active or passive resistance and officers need to quickly bring them under control.
ICE argued that it currently lacks a non-lethal use-of-force device that allows officers to intervene in situations involving resistance and violence. The agency stated that the tool would help reduce the use of physical force and prevent confrontations from escalating to the use of potentially lethal weapons.
The documents indicated that the gloves would be used in accordance with the agency’s policies, training requirements, and accountability mechanisms, though they did not detail what those safeguards would be or the specific procedures for overseeing their use.
