California lawmakers are racing to block ICE from deploying a high-tech restraint device that federal officials argue would give agents a less-lethal way to control combative individuals without resorting to a gun.
Assembly Bill 2760 seeks to outlaw the use of “wearable electroshock devices” by law enforcement across California, with the proposed ban specifically extending to federal agencies.
The measure would also bar state and local law enforcement agencies from using state money to purchase the devices and would require departments to update their use-of-force policies to formally prohibit them.
The legislation comes as the Department of Homeland Security moves closer to spending as much as $20 million to provide ICE agents with thousands of the devices.
The device is called the G.L.O.V.E., an acronym for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter.
It is made by Compliant Technologies, a veteran-owned company based in Kentucky.
ICE and other federal officials have backed the technology.
California legislators and civil rights organizations are pushing back against it.
Senior federal officials argue the gloves can help agents deal with combative individuals without resorting to lethal force, giving officers another option in dangerous encounters.
The gloves are already being used by some correctional facilities and select local police departments.
The Nelson County Jail in Kentucky is among the detention facilities that have outfitted guards with the devices.
If the federal purchase goes through, thousands of ICE field agents and deportation officers nationwide are expected to be equipped with the gloves by March 2027.
California lawmakers are now trying to make sure that technology stays off the streets of their state.
AB 2760 was introduced by Democratic Assembly Member Dr. LaShae Sharp-Collins on Feb. 20 but was amended on Aug. 21.
The legislation was rewritten to specifically target wearable electroshock devices, with the prohibition applying to federal law enforcement agencies operating inside California.
The bill defines “wearable” to include any clothing or accessory item.
Assemblymember Alex Lee, a Democrat from the Bay Area, has blasted the technology as a “gross” tool used to “brutalize and hurt.”
But DHS has defended the need to obtain equipment for its officers.
“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,” a DHS spokesperson said.
Now California lawmakers are racing the clock.
On Monday, the state Senate voted 30-9 to suspend Joint Rules 61 and 62(a), an emergency procedural move that cleared the way for the newly rewritten measure to move forward without standard deadlines.
With the legislative session winding down, the fast-track maneuver gives lawmakers a chance to push the bill toward a final vote before the midnight Aug. 31 deadline.
AB 2760 is currently in the Senate Rules Committee and must clear the remaining procedural hurdles before lawmakers can take final action.
