US: ICE plan to equip officers with gloves that deliver electric shocks

Milan, 12 Aug. (LaPresse/AP) – Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers could soon be equipped with gloves capable of delivering painful electric shocks, with the aim of securing the cooperation of aggressive individuals. According to a notice published on Monday by the US Department of Homeland Security, ICE plans to spend up to $20 million by March on the purchase of thousands of ‘conductive distraction and de-escalation devices’ for officers and agents. The devices are known as G.L.O.V.E., an acronym for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, and are manufactured by Compliant Technologies LLC in Lexington, Kentucky. In recent years, they have been used by some prisons and police forces. Compliant Technologies states that the devices function as a normal pair of patrol gloves until officers press a switch to activate the electrical mode. According to the company, the gloves must be applied directly to a person’s skin to deliver a painful shock that typically helps an officer secure compliance within seconds. However, it warns that they must not be used as a form of punishment, against people who are merely displaying “verbal defiance or belligerence”, nor on high-risk groups such as children, pregnant women, the elderly or people with disabilities.