ICE grants $16.7 million contract to buy thousands of electric shock gloves

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has granted a $16.7 million no-bid contract for 6,000 gloves that can deliver electric shocks, a new use-of-force tool that the agency claims will help officers control resisting detainees and avoid using more serious or lethal weapons.

Dubbed the G.L.O.V.E., or Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, the device operates as a conventional patrol glove until an officer activates its "electrical mode." Once activated, the device must make direct contact with a person's skin to deliver a painful shock designed to force compliance.

In contract paperwork released on a federal database Thursday, ICE describes the gloves as "conductive distraction and de-escalation devices," and says the new technology will offer personnel a lower-impact option during arrests, detainee transports and disturbances surrounding detention facilities. According to the agency's procurement rationale, the gloves may be used when a person is "actively or passively resisting" and an officer needs to gain control quickly.

Federal records show ICE signed the contract Wednesday with a Kentucky-based company known as Compliant Technologies LLC, but formally posted the award Thursday. The six-month deal includes the gloves, support equipment and services. The gloves themselves cost $2,495 apiece.

The agency argues the devices reduce agency reliance on physical force and, in more dangerous encounters, grant officers an alternative to resorting to a firearm.

"ICE does not currently have an empty hand use of force device to provide to the field amidst unprecedented levels of threats and violence against ICE officers and agents to help ensure they can de-escalate tense situations before they turn violent," the agency wrote in procurement documents.

ICE said the gloves would be deployed under approved policies, training requirements and accountability standards, though procurement documents do not account for those safeguards in detail.

Compliant Technologies' instruction manual says users of the gloves should "always give the subject(s) a reasonable opportunity to comply before force is used." It suggests using them for up to 15 seconds, unless the subject becomes more violent or endangers people. The company also states that the devices should not be used to punish people, and shouldn't be used on the elderly, pregnant women, small children or "the severely handicapped."

ICE first announced the planned purchase earlier this month. The plan has drawn opposition from congressional Democrats and civil rights advocates who question how the gloves will be used and whether ICE has adequate safeguards in place to prevent abuse.

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and 15 other Democratic senators urged ICE on Thursday to abandon the purchase, warning that a device capable of inflicting an electric shock during civil immigration arrests raises questions about proportionality, medical safety, constitutional rights and oversight. 

"A device capable of delivering an electrical shock through direct contact with an individual presents substantial risks if deployed during civil arrests," the senators wrote, adding that the risks would be heightened without clear limits, adequate training and comprehensive oversight. Lawmakers demanded that ICE disclose its rules for authorized uses, safeguards and procedures for reviewing deployments, moving forward. 

The Department of Homeland Security has defended the purchase, accusing critics of trying to deny federal law enforcement officers safety equipment. In a statement to CBS News, a DHS spokesperson called the pushback from Democrats "despicable and a deliberate attempt to undermine and endanger our officers."

"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 spokesperson said, adding that personnel are "highly trained in de-escalation tactics."

CBS News has reached out to Compliant Technologies for comment.

The contract marks a meaningful expansion for the glove technology that up until this point has been used primarily by local police departments and jails. Critics argue the new tactic could make it easier for immigration officers to inflict pain during routine law enforcement encounters, with use of force even less visible to the public.

ICE has drawn scrutiny in recent months for its use-of-force practices, including attempted vehicle stops in Maine and Texas last month that ended with ICE agents fatally shooting two people.

ICE to spend up to $20 million on gloves that deliver painful electric shocks, DHS notice says