Those shock gloves ICE plans to buy can bring strong men to their knees in less than a second
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- Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to spend up to $20 million on thousands of gloves that can deliver an electronic shock.
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that → plan → shock
- The gloves are marketed as a nonlethal way to subdue and control people.
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gloves → market → people
- Civil rights advocates say the equipment will heighten mistrust of immigration agents who are already viewed unfavorably by a skeptical public.
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who → say → public
Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to buy thousands of special gloves that would allow agents to administer electronic shocks — a tactic the gloves’ manufacturer describes as a nonlethal “soft empty hand” for controlling people.
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manufacturer → plan → people
But videos posted by the manufacturer, Compliant Technologies of Richmond, Ky., show that the effects of the gloves are anything but soft.
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effects → post → gloves
In one video, the CTG-5 G.L.O.V.E — an acronym for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter — easily brings a strapping man in military fatigues down to his knees in less than a second.
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G.L.O.V.E → generate → second
The glove caused another man’s leg muscles to spasm, although the shock, applied on his forearm, was advertised as being strictly localized.
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shock → cause → forearm
The suspension was ordered after an ICE officer shot and killed a Colombian driver Monday in Maine and a week after another officer shot and killed a motorist in Houston.
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officer → order → Houston
The videos were taken at defensive weapon exhibitions all across the U.S. Frequently, the volunteers who get zapped yelp as they collapse limply down on a soft mat.
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they → take → mat
“That sucked!
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That → suck → ?
That was terrible,” one man said after going through a demonstration.
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man → say → demonstration
“It does suck. But, it sucks a lot less than other options,” the caption from Compliant Technologies reads.
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caption → suck → Technologies
Civil rights organizations say they fear that ICE agents — who have been widely criticized for harsh tactics and fatal shootings — are being given yet another weapon for their already-packed arsenal to intimidate the public.
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arsenal → say → public
“There is a trust in law enforcement with extreme power over human life, because you believe the people you’re entrusting are trained and they’re careful,” said Naureen Shah, director of policy and government affairs in immigration with the American Civil Liberties Union.
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Shah → be → Union
“ICE has broken that trust with the public ...
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ICE → break → public
the mission is simply to scare.”
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mission → scare → ?
The plan was first reported by the Associated Press.
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plan → report → Press
John Sandweg, a former acting ICE director under the Obama administration, questioned the wisdom of equipping agents with the shock glove because the agency has seen a decline in training and oversight during the second Trump administration.
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agency → act → administration
(The administration has often said training of agents has not declined.)
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training → say → agents
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is moving to equip officers with body cameras in the next two months, but the public should not expect to see footage of every critical incident.
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public → move → incident
“Given the struggles the agency’s having with use of force, to deploy a less-lethal tool, especially when you see the administration really shift their focus to the side of the non-criminal population, it raises massive concerns,” Sandweg said.
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Sandweg → give → concerns
Sandweg estimates ICE could purchase 10,000 to 15,000 pairs of gloves.
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ICE → estimate → gloves
When sent a list of questions about the devices, which resemble thick work gloves, Compliant Technologies declined to comment.
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Technologies → send → gloves
Its website says the gloves are used by law enforcement agencies around the country.
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gloves → say → country
The shock gloves deliver 380 volts, far less than the 1,200 volts typically delivered by traditional tasers, studies say.
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studies → deliver → tasers
According to the company website, the glove is designed to disrupt sensory nerves without puncturing or burning the skin.
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glove → accord → skin
In a statement, Homeland Security defended the plan to purchase the gloves.
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Security → defend → gloves
“Every decision is made with careful consideration and appropriately reviewed to make sure that any technology ICE utilizes is consistent with all applicable law enforcement policies and standards,” the department said.
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department → make → policies
“Our officers are highly trained in de-escalation techniques.”
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officers → train → techniques
Equipping an agency embroiled in controversy over its occasionally fatal enforcement practices with “sci-fi” technology will likely cause the public to make further efforts to evade ICE agents, instead of becoming more compliant, said Bryanna Fox, criminology professor at the University of South Florida and former FBI agent.
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Fox → equip → Florida
“If the public doesn’t understand it and they don’t trust it, they’re not going to view it as procedurally just,” Fox said.
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Fox → understand → it
They’ll think, ‘Am I going to stand there and wait for the ICE to shock me, or am I going to run?’”
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I → think → me
On its website, Compliant Technologies says it has tested the G.L.O.V.E on people with cardiovascular problems and pacemakers with no issues.
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it → say → issues
It added that the technology does not interfere at all with heart activity.
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technology → add → activity
However, some civil rights advocates note that Compliant Technologies has advised against using shock gloves on pregnant women, children and people with heart issues.
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Technologies → note → issues
Shah said she believes that intimidation played a key role in the decision to adopt the G.L.O.V.E technology, adding that its use is meant to dissuade citizens from confronting or even recording ICE agents.
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use → say → agents
“At a time like this, ICE should be trying to do everything it can to rebuild public trust, to reconstruct itself as a credible law enforcement agency,” Shah said.
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Shah → try → agency
Referring to Trump aide Stephen Miller, primary architect of the administration’s immigration crackdown, she added, “Instead, it is spending as many taxpayer dollars as it can, as quickly as it can, to acquire technology to make good on Stephen Miller’s dystopian vision of the United States.”
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it → refer → States
