ICE to equip agents with electric shock gloves amid criticism

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced a procurement that could cost between $10 million and $20 million to provide its officers with conductive gloves that deliver painful electric shocks. The gloves, marketed as the G.L.O.V.E. (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter), appear as ordinary patrol gloves until a button activates an electrical mode that must be applied directly to a person’s skin to cause pain and encourage compliance. Unlike Tasers, they are said not to leave burn or contact marks.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said at a news conference, "We are outraged," warning that ICE agents who misuse the gloves in the state could face criminal and civil liability. Several Democratic members of Congress also expressed concern on social media, arguing the devices add a dangerous tool without improving safety.

A pending lawsuit alleges a 43-year-old man died after being shocked 27 times with the gloves and 13 times with a Taser in a Kentucky jail, with two glove shocks reportedly lasting far beyond the manufacturer’s recommended 15-second limit. An internal investigation of the detention center described the actions as inflicting unnecessary pain and increasing health-risk hazards. Other lawsuits alleging injuries from the gloves have been dismissed.

The manufacturer’s user manual cautions against using the gloves on vulnerable populations such as the elderly, children, pregnant women and the severely disabled, and warns they should not be employed for verbal defiance, punishment, torture or horseplay. Former ICE acting director John Sandweg warned that the devices are "too easy for this to get misused, against a population that doesn’t pose a threat." Law professor Michael Mannheimer echoed the concern, questioning whether immediate access to the gloves would lead agents to bypass lesser-force tactics.

The Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent agency, issued a statement saying the agency continuously assesses officer needs to ensure they have appropriate tools for safe arrests, without specifically addressing the glove purchase. The solicitation for a no-bid contract could be released soon, with the agreement extending through March 2027. The glove manufacturer declined to comment.