International News: U.S. ICE plans to equip officers with electric-shock gloves in $20 million purchase

By Zoila Palma:  U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is planning to purchase thousands of gloves capable of delivering painful electric shocks to individuals during confrontations, AP reports.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has indicated that the agency could spend up to $20 million on the devices, which are intended to help officers gain compliance from people who resist arrest or detention.

The devices, known as G.L.O.V.E., or Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, are manufactured by Compliant Technologies LLC of Lexington, Kentucky.

According to the company, the gloves function like regular patrol gloves until an officer activates an electrical mode using a switch.

The device must make direct contact with a person’s skin and is designed to deliver a brief pain stimulus that can cause compliance within seconds. ICE could award the contract as early as Friday, with the equipment expected to be delivered by March.

The planned purchase has sparked concern among civil rights advocates, who argue that ICE has already faced criticism over its use of force and limited oversight during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign.

The American Civil Liberties Union questioned why electric-shock technology would be needed for civil immigration enforcement and warned that individuals could be shocked without knowing the device had been activated.

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