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ICE awards contract to buy 6,000 pairs of electric shock gloves
AP News • • nation
Key Points:
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has awarded a $16.7 million no-bid contract to Compliant Technologies LLC to purchase 6,000 pairs of gloves capable of delivering painful electric shocks for controlling detainees and protesters.
- The gloves, which function as normal patrol gloves until activated to deliver an electric shock upon skin contact, are intended for use in high-tension environments such as arrests, transporting combative detainees, and responding to civil disturbances.
- Civil rights advocates and Democratic senators, led by Catherine Cortez Masto, have strongly opposed the purchase, citing concerns about ICE's history of excessive force and lack of oversight, and demanding transparency about training, usage limits, and accountability measures.
- ICE and the Department of Homeland Security defended the acquisition, stating the gloves are meant to prevent more severe force and injuries, and criticized political opposition as attempts to undermine officer safety.
