ICE Eyes $20 Million Contract for Electric Shock Gloves Already Funded for Omaha School Officers
The numbers come first. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is preparing to spend up to $20 million on electric shock gloves, according to documents published this week by the Department of Homeland Security. AP News first reported the plans.
The devices are known as G.L.O.V.E. — Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter — and are manufactured by Compliant Technologies, a Kentucky-based, veteran-owned company that markets the product as a 'Conductive Distraction and De-escalation Device.' The CTG-5 model delivers shocks ranging from 324 to 362 volts, with a hard operational limit of 380 volts. For context, a taser can reach between 1,200 and 1,500 volts.
The gloves operate as standard gloves until activated by a button, at which point electrode pads on the palm side deliver a painful electric shock on direct skin contact. Mike O'Dowd, a former Navy SEAL and founder of Defense Strategies Group, tested the device and described the experience: 'It goes into your nerve and it sends this shock up your arm and it hurts so bad. It was unbearable.'
According to the DHS documents, the contract will likely be awarded in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2026 and run through March 2027. The devices are to be used for Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement Removal Operations for the arrest, detention, and deportation of individuals.
The technology is not new to American law enforcement. An NPR analysis calculated that more than 50 police departments across 20 states are using the technology. In May 2025, the city of Omaha, Nebraska, awarded the Omaha Police Department $65,924 for 40 units of the same gloves intended for school resource officers. 'These gloves are being purchased for school resource officers as another use of force option with the goal of deescalating and preventing use of force situations,' the police department stated in correspondence to the city's purchasing department. However, publicly available documents did not provide specific examples of how officers in schools were using the devices, and it is unclear whether the devices are currently being used. The Omaha Police Department and Omaha Public Schools did not respond to requests for comment.
At the time of the correspondence cited in the documents, the devices were being used by 'all officers' at the Bellevue Police Department.
A third-party security expert included in the purchasing request outlined policy recommendations, specifying that G.L.O.V.E. should not be deployed on the elderly, small children, pregnant women, people with physical disabilities, or those with 'obvious health conditions.' Compliant Technologies requires officers to complete a certification course before using the device and to recertify every two years.
Criticism of the procurement has come from civil liberties groups. The American Civil Liberties Union published a report last month that found more than one-third of 1,200 immigration enforcement incidents involved immigration agent misconduct, including use of excessive force or targeting of children or other vulnerable people. A DHS spokesperson responded: '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. 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 bottom line. The G.L.O.V.E. contract is a straightforward procurement decision: ICE agents operate in high-risk, close-contact environments, and a lower-voltage alternative to tasers — one that requires certification and carries explicit use restrictions — represents a measured addition to the force continuum. Capital and policy both reward clear rules, and the DHS spokesperson's statement points to exactly that framework. The harder question, left open by the Omaha case, is whether adequate training and oversight protocols will follow the hardware into the field — in schools or anywhere else.
