U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement awarded a $16.7 million no-bid contract for 6,000 pairs of gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks, with use planned for detainees and protesters in high-tension situations. The deal was published Thursday in a federal database and goes to Compliant Technologies LLC of Kentucky. The purchase drew objections from civil rights advocates and Democratic senators, including Catherine Cortez Masto, who urged ICE to cancel it. Homeland Security defended the move as safety equipment for officers.
Nelson County, Ky., jailer Justin Hall shows an electric shock glove that is used at his facility, Aug. 13, in Bardstown, Ky. AP-Yonhap
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has awarded a $16.7 million contract to purchase 6,000 pairs of gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks , saying officers would use them to control detainees and protesters who resist.
ICE moved forward with the purchase despite opposition from civil rights advocates and Democratic members of Congress, who said ICE officers cannot be trusted to use them appropriately.
A notice published in a federal database Thursday said ICE entered into a no-bid contract to purchase the gloves from Compliant Technologies LLC, a Kentucky-based firm that manufactures them. The deal includes acquiring 6,000 of the devices along with support equipment and services over the next six months.
