ICE wants to give agents electrified gloves that shock people into compliance
The agency is looking to spend up to $20 million on the devices.
byJess Weatherbed Aug 12, 2026, 12:58 PM EDT
Photo by Blake Fagan / AFP via Getty Images
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is aiming to spend up to $20 million on equipping officers and agents with specialized gloves that deliver painful electric shocks. These plans were outlined in a notice published by the Department of Homeland Security on Monday, with an unspecified quantity of the devices set to be delivered by March 2027.
The electrified handwear outlined in the contract is the CTG 5 GLOVE (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter), which manufacturer Compliant Technologies refers to as a CD3 (Conductive Distraction and De-escalation) device. Compliant Technologies describes it as “a great, humane, low-optics, de-escalation solution” that is “usually effective in bringing individuals into compliance in less than three seconds.”
These are the gloves in question, which insidiously _just look like a regular pair of protective gloves instead of something a comic book supervillain would engineer._Image: Compliant Technologies
The shock feature can be activated in a second using a switch located on the glove, which delivers a maximum voltage of up to 380V upon skin contact — closer to a dog’s shock collar than a taser device. Still, this “inhibits/ distracts the subject from performing coordinated muscle movement” according to the glove’s user guide. The same guide includes several warnings: don’t use more than one pair on a single individual, don’t shock people for more than 15 seconds, and don’t use it against high-risk populations such as children, or people who are elderly, pregnant, or disabled.
Because the CD3 gloves are not immediately identifiable as a weapon, Compliant Technologies describes them as an “invisible partner” that can be used to enhance “established tactics, techniques and procedures,” and calls them “The New Protocol in Peace Keeping.”
