ICE PLANS UP TO $20 MILLION PURCHASE OF ELECTRIC-SHOCK GLOVES FROM PRIVATE KENTUCKY LLC

New G.L.O.V.E. technology could give immigration officers another less-lethal force option, while the manufacturer's own rules require training and certification that expires every two years

By Hoosier Enquirer Staff

WASHINGTON — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is preparing for the potential purchase of millions of dollars' worth of specialized gloves capable of delivering an electrical shock, adding a controversial new device to the government's immigration-enforcement arsenal.

ICE plans to spend between $10 million and $20 million acquiring and deploying the devices, according to reporting on a Department of Homeland Security procurement notice. The equipment is expected to be supplied by Compliant Technologies LLC, a Lexington, Kentucky-based company. The proposed acquisition has already generated criticism from civil-liberties advocates concerned about excessive force and the possibility that an electrical device incorporated into an officer's glove could be used without the visibility associated with a conventional Taser. (AP News)

The device is known as the G.L.O.V.E. — Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter. Compliant Technologies describes it as a CD3, or "Conductive Distraction and De-escalation Device," intended to supplement other tools available to law enforcement, corrections, security, military and emergency personnel. (Compliant Technologies)

But one important detail should not get lost in the controversy surrounding the purchase: The manufacturer says an officer cannot simply put on the G.L.O.V.E. and start using it.

TRAINING IS REQUIRED — AND IT EXPIRES

According to Compliant Technologies' published training information, participating agencies operate under two-year recertification cycles. The company offers three levels of instruction: User, Instructor and Agency Master Instructor. Agency Master Instructors can qualify and recertify instructors and users within their own agencies, while the master instructors themselves must complete the full course again every two years. (Compliant Technologies)

The G.L.O.V.E. user manual is even more explicit. It says an individual must be trained and qualified before operating the device. Once certified, that certification remains valid for two years from completion of the course. Users who fail to complete the required recertification by the end of that period are disqualified from using the device until they become recertified. (Blueline Advanced Technologies)

That requirement is significant.

If ICE ultimately deploys thousands of these devices, the agency should not merely purchase the equipment. It should maintain records demonstrating that every officer authorized to carry one has completed the manufacturer's required training and remains within the two-year certification period.

There should be no ambiguity: no certification, no electric glove. Expired certification, take it off until the officer is recertified.

WHAT DOES THE G.L.O.V.E. ACTUALLY DO?

Unlike a conventional conducted-energy weapon that fires probes from a distance, the G.L.O.V.E. is a contact device incorporated into something resembling an officer's patrol glove.

The manufacturer says its current CT-G4 model is activated by a switch on the glove and lists a maximum voltage range of 210 to 320 volts, while stating that the device cannot exceed 380 volts. Compliant Technologies markets the technology as a "Force Multiplier" operating within an agency's existing use-of-force continuum. (Compliant Technologies)

That discreet design is simultaneously one of the product's selling points and one of the reasons critics are concerned.

An officer doesn't necessarily have to draw an obvious weapon before using it. That potentially gives an officer another option during a physical confrontation, but it also makes rigorous training, body-camera coverage, reporting requirements and supervisory review particularly important.

The Associated Press reports that civil-rights advocates and some public officials are raising concerns about misuse, including use against vulnerable people. Litigation involving previous uses of the technology has also contributed to scrutiny of the devices. (AP News)

Those concerns shouldn't automatically determine whether ICE may use the technology, but neither should they be dismissed.

LESS-LETHAL DOESN'T MEAN NO RULES

Law-enforcement officers sometimes confront people who resist arrest, assault officers, attempt to escape or pose an immediate danger to themselves or others. Agencies consequently need a range of force options between verbal commands and firearms.

If a properly used electrical glove can safely end a physical struggle faster and reduce injuries to officers, suspects and bystanders, there is an argument for making such technology available.

But giving an officer another force option also creates another responsibility.

ICE should establish clear rules governing when the G.L.O.V.E. may be activated, when it may not be used, how every activation is documented, whether body-camera footage must be reviewed following its use and what happens when an officer violates those rules.

The manufacturer's two-year certification requirement provides an obvious starting point.

ICE should go further and make certification records auditable. Supervisors should be able to determine immediately whether an officer carrying the device is currently qualified. An officer whose certification expires should lose authorization to carry or operate it until completing recertification.

$20 MILLION DESERVES ACCOUNTABILITY

A potential expenditure approaching $20 million is not a trivial equipment purchase.

ICE would be acquiring not merely gloves but an entirely new force capability for personnel working in an extraordinarily contentious enforcement environment.

That makes transparency important for supporters and critics of ICE alike.

Congress and the public should be able to determine how many devices are purchased, what taxpayers ultimately pay, which ICE personnel receive them, what training those officers complete, how frequently the devices are used and how often an activation results in injury or a use-of-force investigation.

The political debate over immigration enforcement will continue regardless of what equipment ICE purchases. The narrower question surrounding the G.L.O.V.E., however, should be considerably easier to answer.

If the federal government is going to place an electrical compliance device directly onto an officer's hand, that officer should know exactly when and how it can be used.

Compliant Technologies already establishes a two-year certification cycle.

ICE should enforce it without exception.

Train them before they wear them. Recertify them every two years. Document every use. And hold anyone who misuses the technology accountable.

The two-year requirement is directly supported by the manufacturer's own published training materials, so that is a particularly strong factual point for the article rather than merely a proposed HE policy position. (Compliant Technologies)