ICE plans to spend up to $20 million by March to buy thousands of gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks, according to a notice the Department of Homeland Security published Monday. The purchase would give federal immigration officers a device the manufacturer says can be worn like a normal patrol glove until a switch is pressed.
The gloves are called Glove, short for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, and are made by Compliant Technologies LLC of Lexington, Kentucky. Compliant Technologies says the device works only when officers press a switch and place it directly on someone’s skin, and it says the stimulation usually brings people into compliance in less than three seconds without burns, marks or scars. The company has also marketed the gloves as a humane, low-optics de-escalation solution for uniformed personnel.
That pitch is exactly what troubles civil rights advocates. Jenn Rolnick Borchetta questioned whether the devices belong in civil immigration enforcement, saying ICE had spent last year showing it was too quick to use force and warning that the gloves could be used to deliver terrible pain in encounters. The concern is not just the pain itself, but the way the device is designed to work: a switch, a glove and little obvious sign from a distance that force is being used.
John Peters, who said he could imagine the gloves being used on uncooperative people in cars, houses and detention facilities, called the sensation immediate and sharp and compared it to a bee sting. He said he believed ICE’s planned purchase would likely be the largest from the company to date, and added that if an officer is getting any type of resistance, the tool would be effective. The gloves have been used before in US jails, but the notice did not explain how often they were used there or what rules would govern ICE’s use.
Jeff Niklaus said in an email that Compliant Technologies is unable to speak on the subject. For now, the plan is only that: a planned buy by March, under the current immigration crackdown, with the biggest unanswered question left on the page being how often ICE would be allowed to use a device built to hurt fast and hide well.
