Overview
- A Department of Homeland Security notice published Monday seeks up to $10 million to $20 million to buy thousands of Compliant Technologies G.L.O.V.E. gloves for use by ICE, though no federal contract award has been announced.
- Local police departments have already purchased the gloves: Omaha bought 40 in 2025 and school resource officers used them on at least two high‑school students during the 2025–2026 school year, prompting Omaha police to agree not to deploy the devices in schools.
- The suburban Bellevue Police Department says its officers will continue carrying the gloves and local chiefs and some users argue the devices reduce injuries compared with other force options and log use tied to a glove serial number.
- Civil‑liberties and human‑rights groups warn the gloves can be abused, may cause medical harm and create low‑visibility force that makes oversight harder; reporting also notes a 2024 wrongful‑death lawsuit and international scrutiny of contact‑shock weapons.
- The gloves work only when an officer presses a button and the device touches bare skin, they record date, time and duration of shocks, and manufacturer guidance sets training, recertification and warnings against use on children, pregnant people and some disabled or elderly individuals.