2026-08-17 · contested story
Trump administration plans to give ICE officers electric-shock gloves
The Department of Homeland Security published a procurement notice indicating ICE plans to spend between $10 million and $20 million on gloves known as the G.L.O.V.E. (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter), manufactured by Kentucky-based Compliant Technologies, which deliver painful electric shocks upon skin contact to gain compliance from resisting individuals. The devices, described by DHS as 'conductive distraction and de-escalation devices,' would be issued to Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement Removal Operations officers under a no-bid contract, with deployment potentially by March 2027. The plan surfaced amid intense scrutiny of ICE's use of force during President Trump's mass deportation campaign, which has included multiple fatal shootings.
How each side frames it
left
"ICE is set to embrace a dystopian new weapon that literally shocks people into submission."
"The masked secret police known for their use of excessive force are planning to spend up to $20 million on a dangerous new accessory."
"Now they will be able to deploy electric shocks with the slight push of a button that maybe nobody else can see them do."
"But out of 56 complaints of excessive force against ICE officers since the beginning of the Trump administration, 32 have been cleared, and just one was referred for disciplinary action"
"Why should the small, the weak and the elderly miss their chance to administer low-grade torture? After all, that's who ICE is hiring"
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"
"The gloves can deliver up to 380 volts of electricity. A standard US power outlet is 120 volts."
"A DHS spokesperson said in a statement that officers are "highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use of force training.""
""They're largely duplicative of the drive-stun mode already available on the Tasers ICE carries," she told Newsweek. "And because the glove looks like an ordinary glove, a person won't know it's carrying a current, which means it's more likely to escalate an encounter than de-escalate one""
"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
""It's another device to help someone get compliant when they are not," Homan said Thursday in an interview on Fox News Channel's "Fox & Friends." "You can't just go from 0 to 100, right, and the first thing you go for is lethal force.""
"they're also facing a 1,300 percent increase in assaults, a 3,300 percent increase in vehicle attacks, and an 8,000 percent increase in death threats"
"Left outlets tended to describe the gloves as delivering "painful electrical shocks," while outlets on the right tended to highlight Peters' quote comparing it to a bee sting."
""It's just a safer way. It's safer on the inmate. It's safer on the staff. And most of the time, most of the time we get compliance," he said. "It's been a great tool for our facility.""
"ICE's investment in the devices "comes as sources within ICE have described an uptick in violence by the individuals they're trying to arrest.""
What each side left out
The left left out — covered by the KSAT & CBS 17 & Newsweek
- Tom Homan's defense that gloves are a less-lethal alternative to firearms
- Kentucky jailer's firsthand account that shocks don't incapacitate or leave marks
- DHS statistics on rising assaults against officers
The right left out — covered by the Sky News & 404media.co & The Daily Beast
- The 2024 lawsuit alleging a man died after being shocked 27 times
- Manual warnings that device may contribute to 'sudden death'
- ACLU concern about concealed, unaccountable deployment
The left left out — covered by the CBS News & Newsweek
- The requirement that officers complete certification and be recertified every two years
- Tactical downside that officers can't readily use firearms while wearing the glove
The center left out — covered by the FOREVER WARS & The Daily Beast
- Explicit editorial moral condemnation of the device as 'torture'
The right left out — covered by the PIX11 & Time Magazine
- New York AG/Governor threats of criminal and civil prosecution
- Expert warnings that under-trained rapidly-hired officers heighten abuse risk
What's actually true?
[verified] ICE plans to spend between $10 million and $20 million on the electric shock gloves.
[verified] The device is called the G.L.O.V.E., standing for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, made by Compliant Technologies of Lexington, Kentucky.
[verified] The gloves can deliver a maximum of 380 volts upon skin contact.
[verified] The manufacturer warns against using the device on the elderly, small children, pregnant women, and severely 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.
[verified] Border czar Tom Homan defended the gloves as a less-lethal alternative to firearms, saying deployment would 'be awhile' as training protocols are worked out.
[verified] New York AG Letitia James said she was 'outraged' and warned ICE officers who misuse the gloves in New York could face criminal and civil consequences.
[verified] The gloves have previously been used by some jails and police departments, including Omaha Police Department and Mobile County Metro Jail.
The narrative clash
Whether the gloves are a de-escalation tool or an instrument of pain/harm
Left: Introducing gloves that can so easily be used to deliver terrible pain in encounters is a recipe for harm to the public.
Right: It's another device to help someone get compliant when they are not... You can't just go from 0 to 100, right, and the first thing you go for is lethal force.
Severity of the pain inflicted
Left: a dystopian new weapon that literally shocks people into submission
Right: It's immediate and sharp, and it will distract you. I call it like a bee sting.
Whether the devices cause injury or death
Left: a manual 404 Media found says the gloves may even contribute to "sudden death."
Right: unlike Tasers, the shocks do not incapacitate people and make them fall or leave contact or burn marks... most of the time we get compliance
59 sources analyzed
The Daily Beast CNN The Damage Report NPR The New Republic The Guardian CNN Gizmodo Al Jazeera MSN (UK) Sky News The Washington Post CBC News Axios NBC News AP News ABC News - Breaking News, Latest News and Videos The Courier-Journal BBC CBS News Time Magazine KCCI Reuters Newsweek 404media.co The Hill localsyr.com PIX11 FOREVER WARS by Spencer Ackerman NewsNation Bloomberg.com FOX 4 News Dallas-Fort Worth Yahoo Kentucky Lantern NBC New York WINK News upr.org SNJ Today The Times of India WCVB WLWT WMUR KCRA WBAL-TV WYFF ABC7 Los Angeles Google Search KSAT AllSides ABC News 10 Vermont Scripps News Hindustan Times Yahoo! Search KRGV 5 BBC NDTV The Telegraph CBS 17 Fox News