Damien Alvarado
•8/12/2026
FORT MYERS, Fla. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is planning to spend millions of dollars on electrical devices built into gloves that are designed to help officers gain compliance while making arrests.
A federal acquisition record shows ICE has a requirement to purchase CTG-5 G.L.O.V.E. devices for Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations officers and agents. The estimated contract value is between $10 million and $20 million. The record lists an estimated solicitation date of Aug. 14 and a contract completion date of March 31, 2027.
G.L.O.V.E. stands for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter. The device is manufactured by Compliant Technologies.
The manufacturer says the glove functions as a normal patrol glove until its electrical mode is activated. The device must make direct contact with a person’s skin to deliver what the company describes as a “pain stimulus” intended to help an officer gain compliance.
Compliant Technologies declined WINK News’ request for an interview or additional comment.
“Thanks for your inquiry! We are unable to comment at this time and appreciate your understanding,” CEO Jeff Niklaus told WINK News in an email.
Chris Knott, owner of Naples Security Solutions, told WINK News he sees a potential use for the technology but does not consider it a replacement for other law enforcement tools.
“It’s not going to replace the use of deadly force. It’s not going to replace the Taser because the Taser has a far greater output and is actually more of an incapacitator,” Knott said.
Knott said the glove’s purpose is different from a device designed to incapacitate someone. Because an officer must already be close enough to make physical contact, he sees one potential application during an arrest when an officer is attempting to restrain someone who begins resisting.
“If they become, you know, a little squirmy and begin to resist, it’s something that at that point they can activate and distract while continuing to restrain the individual,” Knott said.
Knott said the effectiveness of the technology will ultimately become clearer as agencies use it in real-world encounters.
“I think time will tell to see how successful it is,” Knott said.
ICE’s existing use-of-force policy outlines a five-level continuum. It begins with officer presence, followed by verbal commands, soft techniques, hard techniques and, finally, deadly force. The policy notes officers may have to rapidly increase or decrease force depending on the circumstances of an encounter.
Level 4, or “Hard Techniques,” includes strikes, throws, takedowns, specified electronic control weapons and certain impact weapons. However, the policy reviewed by WINK News does not specifically identify the G.L.O.V.E. or state where the device would fall on the continuum.
WINK News asked the Department of Homeland Security where the G.L.O.V.E. would be classified and whether officers or agents working in Southwest Florida could eventually receive the devices. DHS did not directly answer those questions.
Retired FBI Special Agent Richard Kolko told WINK News that adding another option could help officers keep an encounter from escalating to a higher level of force.
“Adding these gloves to the ICE agents that are out there on the street conducting operations gives them one more tool to help stop that force continuum from going to the next step,” Kolko said.
Kolko also stressed that introducing a new tool requires officers to understand when and how it should be used.
“Any time a law enforcement officer is given a new tool that they’re gonna use out on the street, it requires training, retraining, and being ready to use it, and understanding the policies and the reporting requirements,” Kolko said.
ICE’s current policy requires officers to attempt de-escalation when feasible and requires use-of-force incidents to be reported and reviewed. Officers must also receive use-of-force training at least annually.
In a statement to WINK News, a DHS spokesperson said the agency continually evaluates equipment for ICE 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.
“Our officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use of force training. The latest ICE use of force policy is available here.
“Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, ICE is targeting the worst of the worst. Since Day One, ICE law enforcement has been delivering on President Trump’s promise to the American people to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists. Nearly 70% of ICE arrests are of dangerous illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S. While ICE law enforcement works to remove these public safety threats from American communities, they’re also facing a 1,300% increase in assaults, a 3,300% increase in vehicle attacks, and an 8,000% increase in death threats.”
The arrest and threat statistics in that statement are DHS’s figures and are attributed to the agency.
Federal records show ICE expects to take the next step in the contracting process as early as Friday. The acquisition forecast lists the contract’s expected completion date as March 31, 2027, but it does not specify when the gloves would be delivered to or issued to officers and agents.
