California Passes Bill to Ban Shock Gloves as ICE Prepares to Buy $20 Million Worth

With Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents expected to soon wear gloves that can deliver electric shocks to people resisting arrest, California is poised to become the first state to ban the use of electroshock gloves. Last month, the Department of Homeland Security published a notice that it plans to spend up to $20 million to purchase “conductive distraction and de-escalation devices” by March 2027. The “de-escalation devices” are known as GLOVE, short for “Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter,” which are made by a Kentucky-based company, Compliant Technologies LLC. The devices, which are already used by some jails and police departments, can be worn as normal gloves. But when an officer presses a switch, they become devices that deliver painful electric shocks to individuals resisting arrest.On Monday, California lawmakers passed a bill that would ban state and federal law enforcement officers from using the GLOVE. It would also prevent agencies from using state funds to acquire them.During an August 26 committee hearing, a sponsor of the bill, Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins, raised concerns electroshock devices could lead to deaths.“Imagine your family, your friends and loved ones or even yourself being incapacitated by federal, state or local law enforcement who do not have the necessary training to ensure that you don’t suffer from adverse health effects due to being shocked,” Ms. Sharp-Collins said. Compliant Technologies warns law enforcement about the potential dangers of the GLOVE. A manual for the device says that it “may increase” the chance of conditions that can lead to “sudden death,” such as an increase in blood pressure or a change in heart rhythm.“The longer the exposure, the greater the potential risk,” the manual warns. The company also says GLOVE should not be used for punishment or torture, and that it should not be used on elderly individuals, children, pregnant women, suicidal individuals, or “the severely handicapped.”Opponents of the bill said Democrats were rushing it through the legislature. A Republican Assemblymember, Carl DeMaio, told ABC 10 that the legislation is a “significant policy change” and “controversial.”“To ram it through would suggest that you are not interested in study or input,” Mr. DeMaio said. Governor Newsom has until September 30 to sign or veto the bill. The planned use of the electroshock gloves has received pushback from federal lawmakers. Last month, Senator Alex Padilla sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin urging the department to end its plan to acquire the GLOVE.“For the past year and a half, Americans have watched federal immigration enforcement officers engage in the indiscriminate abuse of authority and excessive use of force to detain people they think may be immigrants,” the letter states. “Agents seemingly use force as a default—not only when necessary—with tactics that include the use of high-risk neck restraints, knee-to-neck pins, chemical weapons, high-speed vehicle pursuits, and the tackling, shoving, and slamming of civilians.”The letter referred to the fatal shootings of Alex Pretti, Renee Good, Lorenzo Salgado Araugo, and Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero as incidents in which the senator said ICE agents improperly used deadly force. The fatal shootings sparked waves of protests. A DHS spokesman responded to concerns that ICE agents would not be properly trained on how to use the GLOVE, telling The New York Sun that 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 spokesman said that agents are “highly trained in de-escalation tactics” and regularly receive training on the use of force.

California Passes Bill to Ban Shock Gloves as ICE Prepares to Buy $20 Million Worth

California Passes Bill to Ban Shock Gloves as ICE Prepares to Buy $20 Million Worth

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