ICE is seeking to buy electrified gloves for its agents and officers to use for “distraction and de-escalation” of situations.
The agency filed a notice on Monday announcing it would pay up to $20 million for the gloves. An actual solicitation is set to be published Friday.
“Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has a requirement to purchase the CTG-5 G.L.O.V.E. (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter) a Conductive Distraction and De-escalation Device which will be issued to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) officers and agents,” the planning notice said.
HSI is Homeland Security’s chief investigative arm, pursuing cases ranging from counterfeiting to smuggling to child pornography. ERO is ICE’s deportation force, overseeing arrests, detention and removal of illegal immigrants.
The gloves force a reaction in the nervous system, which is supposed to interfere with a target’s muscle control.
The glove purchase drew attention, given ICE’s headline-making confrontations as it seeks to carry out President Trump’s mass deportation mission.
Sen. John Hickenlooper, Colorado Democrat, said the gloves are meant to “electrocute people.”
“ICE is out of control. Not one more penny for their lawlessness,” he wrote on social media.
Homeland Security, ICE’s parent agency, defended the potential purchase.
“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. Every decision is made with careful consideration and appropriately reviewed to ensure that any technology ICE utilizes is consistent with all applicable law enforcement policies and standards,” the department said.
Compliant Technologies, maker of the GLOVE, says it’s part of “the new protocol in peacekeeping.”
The company says the device is activated by a switch on the glove, can be used for up to 90 minutes, and delivers a maximum of 380 volts.
Photos show a relatively normal-looking work glove with contact pads in the palm.
The manual says the gloves must come in contact with the target’s skin and don’t usually work through clothing, though they might deliver a charge through thin wet shirts or blouses.
People and animals who are “extremely hairy” can also be tough to shock.
Among the warnings are that only one pair of gloves should be used at a time on a target, and for no longer than 15 seconds.
The company also says the gloves shouldn’t be used around flammable substances.
Compliant Technologies includes a warning that the gloves “may cause or contribute to death or serious injury,” particularly when used on a “medically compromised” person.
Contact the author
Please read our comment policy before commenting.