The
immigration agents could soon use to control detainees and protesters worked so powerfully during a military exercise that participants felt intense pain, stopped fighting immediately and feared additional exposures, according to a previously unreleased Army study.
uncertain
participants → use → study
Immigration and Customs Enforcement leaders were aware of the findings before signing a $16.7 million
to purchase 6,000 pairs of shock gloves in August, according to records obtained by the watchdog group American Oversight and shared with The Associated Press.
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leaders → sign → Press
The shocks had a profound impact on Army employees who played the role of combative prisoners during the exercise, which took place at the military prison at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas in October 2024.
asserted
which → have → October
The participants, several of whom were large-statured men, stopped resisting seconds after officers applied shocks by touching gloves to their skin, and were left with "fatigue, soreness and excessive apprehensiveness to being shocked again," the study found.
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study → stop → fatigue
"After experiencing the effects of the GLOVE ... participants stated just seeing the GLOVE was enough to make them want to comply," the authors wrote.
asserted
authors → experience → GLOVE
Watchdog says gloves cause pain and raise safety concerns
In contract paperwork released on a federal database in August, ICE called the gloves "distraction and de-escalation devices" that will be safer than other non-lethal options to subdue targets for arrest and deportation and protesters who create civil disturbances.
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who → say → disturbances
The agency has argued the rapid compliance the gloves cause will keep officers safer and prevent incidents from requiring potentially lethal force.
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gloves → argue → force
"ICE does not currently have an empty hand use of force device to provide to the field amid 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.
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agency → have → documents
But critics have warned the gloves will give ICE another weapon to intimidate and brutalize people even as the agency is under fire for excessive force that has left a trail of
and across the nation.
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that → warn → nation
The gloves, they note, are easy to discharge, do not leave a mark and have not been extensively used in settings outside of jails.
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they → note → jails
The manufacturer warns they should not be used on high-risk populations such as children, pregnant women or disabled people.
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they → warn → children
"The military assessment in ICE's own files shows that these gloves can cause 'intense pain' and force compliance.
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gloves → show → compliance
It does not establish that they are safe," said Chioma Chukwu, executive director of American Oversight.
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Chukwu → establish → Oversight
"Everyone should be alarmed that ICE is preparing to deploy a tool designed to inflict, at best, intense pain, without showing that it is safe for the people who will be subjected to it."
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who → prepare → it
ICE released the study and other documents to American Oversight as part of the group's Freedom of Information Act lawsuit against the agency seeking records related to its use of force.
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ICE → release → force
Study found shock gloves triggered "immediate" compliance
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gloves → find → compliance
The military prison study assessed whether the gloves could be used effectively to forcibly remove combative prisoners from their cells, to respond to disturbances in common areas and to transport uncooperative inmates.
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gloves → assess → inmates
Role-playing employees conducted several scenarios with and without the gloves to test their impact, including violent encounters in which inmates were to fight as hard as they could.
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they → play → which
The study found the devices "increased the efficiency" of teams carrying out forced cell extractions and responding to disturbances by reducing the length of physical encounters, keeping guards from becoming exhausted and preventing injuries.
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devices → find → injuries
They did not "significantly change" the time it took to control inmates during escorts but required less effort.
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it → change → effort
"GLOVE provides a boost in confidence to smaller or less trained members," the study found.
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study → provide → members
"Inmate compliance was immediate" compared to other methods, it added.
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it → compare → methods
The electric jolt does not cause the body to freeze like a Taser shock does, but instead "works by overloading the peripheral nerve endings" of the skin to cause pain, the study said.
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study → cause → pain
Participants who were wet or had oil on their skin described even more powerful shocks, with one reporting discomfort for 30 minutes afterward.
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one → have → minutes
Senator says ICE hasn't responded to demand for details on gloves' use
ICE's contract requires the manufacturer, Compliant Technologies LLC, to deliver the gloves within six months.
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contract → say → months
Its owner, Jeff Niklaus, said he was unavailable for an interview, citing a busy workload.
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he → say → workload
The six-month deal includes the gloves, support equipment and services.
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deal → include → gloves
The gloves themselves cost $2,495 apiece.
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gloves → cost → 2,495
Compliant Technologies' instruction manual says users of the gloves should "always give the subject(s) a reasonable opportunity to comply before force is used."
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force → say → opportunity
It suggests using them for up to 15 seconds, unless the subject becomes more violent or endangers people.
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subject → suggest → people
White House border czar Tom Homan has said it could "be awhile" before the gloves are in the field because ICE is still ironing out training and policy issues.
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ICE → say → issues
A statement released Tuesday by ICE did not address questions about the study and the status of the rollout, but said "officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics."
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officers → release → tactics
U.S. Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada said ICE has not responded to an Aug. 27 letter in which she and 15 other Democratic Senate colleagues called for ICE to abandon its plan to buy the gloves or explain how they would be used and managed to avoid abuse.
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they → say → abuse
She said she still wants answers.
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she → say → answers
"Without ICE's responses to legitimate questions from 16 United States Senators, the American public is being left in the dark about how these electric shock gloves are being deployed and what, if any, training the agents who use them have received," she said.
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she → leave → them
The Department of Homeland Security has defended the purchase, accusing critics of trying to deny federal law enforcement officers safety equipment.
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Department → defend → equipment
In a statement to CBS News in August, a DHS spokesperson called the pushback from Democrats "despicable and a deliberate attempt to undermine and endanger our officers."
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spokesperson → call → 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.
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they → assess → 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."
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personnel → make → tactics
The Aporia
