ICE to use same electric shock gloves in use at the Tarrant County Jail
ICE buying shock gloves used at Tarrant County Jail
ICE has agreed to purchase gloves that emit an electric shock, the same gloves currently used at the Tarrant County Jail. FOX 4's Casey Stegall was given a demonstration on how powerful the gloves can be.
FORT WORTH, Texas - ICE will soon be using the same electric shock gloves that are already in use at the Tarrant County Jail.
ICE shock glove purchase
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: ICE considers buying gloves with electric shock for agents
ICE agents could soon have access to gloves that have the ability to emit an electric shock, which is raising concerns from civil rights groups. FOX 4's Casey Stegall has more.
What we know:
ICE awarded a $16.7 million contract to Compliant Technologies LLC, a Kentucky-based firm that manufactures GLOVES, which stands for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitters.
The contract includes 6,000 gloves, support equipment and services over the next six months.
The devices are normal patrol gloves until an officer presses a button to activate the electrical mode.
They must be applied directly to someone’s skin to produce a shock that causes pain, which is promoted as a way to gain compliance from people who are resisting.
The other side:
ICE purchased the gloves just hours after a group of U.S. senators, led by Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, urged the agency to cancel its plan to buy the gloves.
Civil rights groups have expressed concerns over the need for the tool.
Shock gloves in North Texas
Local perspective:
The shock gloves ICE is purchasing have been in use locally for the last year at the Tarrant County Jail.
"We’ve used it a few times and each time we’ve used it, it’s been completely successful. That means an officer wasn’t hurt, suspect didn’t get hurt," Tarrant County Sheriff Bill Waybourn tells FOX 4's Casey Stegall.
The gloves are reserved for trained supervisors working inside the detainment facility, which can contain up to 5,000 inmates.
Officers gave a demonstration of how the gloves work, with the shock being applied to exposed skin to force compliance.
Waybourn says the jail's use of the gloves has convinced him they have a place beyond the jail.
"I think it's a good tool for all of law enforcement, including ICE. If you have someone that's noncompliant, you will get them to comply, and it will be over without any serious injuries."
Bill Waybourn
The Source: Information in this story comes from ICE and the Tarrant County Sheriff's Office.