Army study: ICE-bought shock gloves caused intense pain and immediate compliance

Mixed · 2A previously unreleased Army study found that shock gloves of the kind Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has bought caused participants in a military exercise to feel intense pain, stop fighting immediately and fear further exposure. 1 2 Mixed · 2According to records obtained by the watchdog group American Oversight and shared with The Associated Press, ICE leaders knew of the findings before signing a $16.7 million contract in August for 6,000 pairs of the gloves. 1 2 Mixed · 2The exercise took place at the military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, in October 2024, with Army employees role-playing combative prisoners. Participants, several of them large-statured men, stopped resisting seconds after officers touched the gloves to their skin, and reported "fatigue, soreness and excessive apprehensiveness to being shocked again". 1 2

Left · 1The authors wrote that after experiencing the gloves, participants said just seeing them was enough to make them want to comply. 2 Mixed · 2The study tested whether the gloves could help remove combative prisoners from cells, respond to disturbances and transport uncooperative inmates. It found they "increased the efficiency" of cell extractions and disturbance response by shortening physical encounters, reducing guard exhaustion and preventing injuries. They did not "significantly change" escort times but required less effort, and "inmate compliance was immediate". 2 1 Centre · 1The study said the jolt does not freeze the body as a Taser does but "works by overloading the peripheral nerve endings" of the skin. Participants who were wet or had oil on their skin described stronger shocks, and one reported discomfort for 30 minutes afterward. 1

Mixed · 2ICE calls the gloves "distraction and de-escalation devices" that will be safer than other non-lethal options and argues that rapid compliance will keep officers safer and avoid the need for potentially lethal force. In procurement documents it said it has no "empty hand use of force device" for the field amid "unprecedented levels of threats and violence" against its officers. 2 1 Mixed · 2Critics warn the gloves give ICE another weapon to intimidate people while the agency faces criticism over excessive force. They note the gloves are easy to discharge, leave no mark and have not been widely used outside jails, and that the manufacturer warns against using them on children, pregnant women or disabled people. 1 2 Mixed · 2Chioma Chukwu, executive director of American Oversight, said the assessment "does not establish that they are safe" and that everyone should be alarmed ICE is preparing to deploy a tool designed to inflict, "at best, intense pain". ICE released the study to the group in response to its Freedom of Information Act lawsuit over the agency's use of force. 1 2

Mixed · 2The contract requires manufacturer Compliant Technologies LLC to deliver the gloves within six months. CBS News reports the deal also covers support equipment and services, that each pair costs $2,495, and that the company's manual advises giving subjects a reasonable chance to comply first and using the gloves for up to 15 seconds. Owner Jeff Niklaus declined an interview, citing a busy workload. 2 1 Mixed · 2White House border czar Tom Homan has said it could "be awhile" before the gloves are in the field because training and policy are still being worked out. ICE did not respond to the AP's request for comment, though CBS says a Tuesday ICE statement did not address the study or the rollout but said "officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics." 1 2 Centre · 1Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada said ICE has not answered an Aug. 27 letter in which she and 15 other Democratic senators urged it to abandon the purchase or explain how the gloves would be used and controlled to avoid abuse. 1

Left · 1CBS News adds that the Department of Homeland Security defended the purchase in August, with a spokesperson calling the Democrats' pushback "despicable and a deliberate attempt to undermine and endanger our officers". 2