Story perspectives

ICE approves $16.7M contract for 6,650 shock gloves

9/3/2026

Left

ICE Approves Gloves

ICE approved a $16.7 million contract for 6,650 electric shock gloves from Compliant Technologies.
Lawmakers and human-rights groups say the gloves enable torture-like abuse and expand DHS militarization.
Rep. Delia Ramirez led a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin demanding cancellation.
It cited Mother Jones report showing police using gloves to inflict pain and avoid liability.
Amnesty International warned of human-rights risks and urged destruction.

Right

ICE Approves Gloves

ICE approved a $16.7 million contract to purchase 6,650 electric shock gloves from Compliant Technologies.
Local sheriffs and Homeland Security say the gloves are essential non-lethal tools and reject California’s ban as unconstitutional.
Sheriff Jim Cooper spent $35,000 for ten gloves, calling them a vital de-escalation device.
California Democrats passed Bill 2760 to ban electroshock devices, sending it to Governor Gavin Newsom.

Center

ICE Approves Gloves

ICE approved a $16.7 million contract to purchase 6,650 electric shock gloves from Compliant Technologies.
Officials say the gloves may be used only when a person resists arrest or threatens officers, with the manual banning use on the elderly, children, pregnant women or severely disabled individuals.
Sixteen Democratic U.S. senators signed a letter to ICE’s acting director urging cancellation and demanding disclosure of training requirements and usage documentation.

Blindspot

The Department of Homeland Security announced that the California ban on wearable electroshock devices is unconstitutional under the Supremacy Clause and pledged that federal officers will not comply with the state law.
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Right-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Left-leaning and Center-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

After the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights—adopted in 1966 and ratified by the United States in 1995—codified Article 7’s ban on torture, the UN Human Rights Committee allowed individuals to lodge complaints, though enforcement remains limited. ICE’s contract for shock-gloves therefore revives longstanding concerns about electro-shock devices and prompts calls for covenant-based transparency.

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ICE Approves Gloves

ICE approved a $16.7 million contract for 6,650 electric shock gloves from Compliant Technologies.
Lawmakers and human-rights groups say the gloves enable torture-like abuse and expand DHS militarization.
Rep. Delia Ramirez led a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin demanding cancellation.
It cited Mother Jones report showing police using gloves to inflict pain and avoid liability.
Amnesty International warned of human-rights risks and urged destruction.

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