2026-08-14 · contested story

Trump administration plans to give ICE officers electric-shock gloves

The Department of Homeland Security published a public notice announcing that Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to spend between $10 million and $20 million to purchase thousands of gloves — called the G.L.O.V.E. (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter), manufactured by Kentucky-based Compliant Technologies — that deliver painful electric shocks upon skin contact to gain compliance from resisting individuals. The plan, first reported by the Associated Press, comes amid intense scrutiny of ICE tactics following a series of fatal shootings by federal immigration agents, including the deaths of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine, and Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas. The Left frames the devices as tools of torture and systemic cruelty, with outlets like The Daily Beast calling them a weapon to inflict 'terrible pain' and Forever Wars dubbing them 'the Coward's Handshake,' emphasizing concealment and lack of accountability. The Center largely relays the AP-sourced facts alongside balanced sourcing — quoting both the ACLU's warnings and the manufacturer's de-escalation claims, plus DHS statements — while outlets like WINK News and The Hill include law-enforcement voices defending the tool. The Right-leaning coverage (Orange County Register, ABC 10News, Fox9) reproduces the AP wire story and DHS framing that the gloves are a 'de-escalation device' needed to 'safely arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens,' with DHS citing dramatic increases in assaults on officers.

How each side frames it

left
"The masked secret police known for their use of excessive force are planning to spend up to $20 million on a dangerous new accessory."
"ICE is set to embrace a dystopian new weapon that literally shocks people into submission."
"Why should the small, the weak and the elderly miss their chance to administer low-grade torture? ... Call the G.L.O.V.E. the Coward's Handshake."
"Introducing gloves that can so easily be used to deliver terrible pain in encounters is a recipe for harm to the public."
"They seem like they're for making already captive people fall to the ground and become more docile."
center
""It's immediate and sharp, and it will distract you. I call it like a bee sting," said John Peters, president of the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths"
""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 gloves can deliver up to 380 volts of electricity. A standard US power outlet is 120 volts."
""They're largely duplicative of the drive-stun mode already available on the Tasers ICE carries ... it's more likely to escalate an encounter than de-escalate one""
""The inmates understand that light, and often just seeing the light brings compliance," he said."
right
"Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers may soon be outfitted with gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks intended to gain compliance from combative individuals."
""Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, ICE is targeting the worst of the worst. ... Nearly 70% of ICE arrests are of dangerous illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime""
"The gloves must be applied directly to someone's skin to deliver a pain stimulus that typically helps an officer gain compliance within seconds, according to the company."
""If the officer is getting any type of resistance from the person, this is certainly an effective tool.""
"The devices are known as G.L.O.V.E. which stands for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter."

What each side left out

The left left out — covered by the BBC & ABC 10News San Diego & Newsweek
The right left out — covered by the Sky News & 404 Media & PIX11
The center left out — covered by the FOREVER WARS by Spencer Ackerman & The Daily Beast
The right left out — covered by the Time Magazine & FOREVER WARS by Spencer Ackerman

What's actually true?

[verified] ICE plans to spend between $10 million and $20 million to purchase the G.L.O.V.E. devices, with delivery expected by March 31, 2027.
[verified] The gloves are manufactured by Compliant Technologies LLC of Lexington, Kentucky, and would be issued to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers.
[verified] The gloves can deliver up to 380 volts of electricity, compared to a standard US power outlet's 120 volts.
[verified] The manufacturer warns the device should not be used as punishment, against people showing only 'verbal defiance or belligerence,' or on children, pregnant women, the elderly or disabled people.
[verified] A pending lawsuit alleges a 43-year-old man died in 2024 after being shocked 27 times with the gloves and 13 more times by a Taser at a jail in Richmond, Kentucky, with two glove shocks lasting 45 and 99 seconds.
[verified] The G.L.O.V.E. user manual states the device 'may increase the affects that can cause sudden death' and lists heart-related medical risks.
[verified] The gloves have previously been used by some jails and police departments, including the Omaha Police Department and Mobile County Metro Jail in Alabama.
[verified] New York AG Letitia James said she was 'outraged' and warned that ICE officers who misuse the gloves in New York could face criminal and civil consequences.

The narrative clash

Whether the gloves cause injury or death
Left: a pending lawsuit alleges a 43-year-old man died in 2024 after being shocked 27 times with the gloves and 13 more times by a Taser at a prison in Richmond, Kentucky.
Right: Compliant Technologies says that since the CD3 technology used in the gloves was introduced in December 2018, there have been "no documented injuries resulting from the direct use" of the devices.
Whether the gloves are effective/necessary for ICE
Left: "They're largely duplicative of the drive-stun mode already available on the Tasers ICE carries ... it's more likely to escalate an encounter than de-escalate one"
Right: "If the officer is getting any type of resistance from the person, this is certainly an effective tool. For smaller officers or weaker officers or older officers, I think it has a great advantage"

73 sources analyzed

The New Republic The Boston Globe vox.com The American Prospect CNN The Daily Beast New York Magazine The Washington Post NPR The Guardian Gizmodo The Damage Report NBC News Sky News NBC Connecticut Bangor Daily News The Courier-Journal CNN PBS USA Today Maine Public Politico Al Jazeera BBC AP News Axios CBS News NBC Boston ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos newscentermaine.com Bloomberg.com Time Magazine Reuters 404media.co KCCI The Hill PIX11 NewsNation Newsweek localsyr.com FOREVER WARS by Spencer Ackerman NBC New York FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth Yahoo Kentucky Lantern SNJ Today WINK News upr.org The Times of India WMUR WCVB WBAL-TV ABC7 Los Angeles WLWT WYFF BBC MS NOW Centralmaine.com WABI WMTW WGME Sun Journal CNBC Fox9 The Portland Press Herald Oregon Public Broadcasting WOWK 13 WFAE Iowa Public Radio WSJ The Telegraph ABC 10News San Diego Orange County Register

Perspectivity reads the coverage — not just who published it.

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