<p class="wp-block-paragraph"><span class="section-lead">On Tuesday, California</span> Gov. Gavin Newsom <a href="https://apnews.com/article/california-gloves-shock-law-newsom-bill-91b68ae4fbd44065256fb5e6b06891ad">signed into law</a> a bill banning law enforcement officers in the state from using electrical shock gloves, a "pain compliance" tool that functions similarly to tasers at a lower voltage. ICE recently purchased approximately 6,000 pairs of the gloves for $16.7 million, which have been <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/ice-shock-gloves-torture-compliant-technologies-jeff-niklaus/">condemned by human rights groups</a> as "inherently abusive equipment that facilitates torture."</p>
<figure class="wp-block-pullquote"><blockquote><p>"This is about stepping up where the federal government has failed." </p></blockquote></figure>
<p>Newsom stated, "Trump has put his political interests above the health, safety and livelihood of American families. California is taking action to strengthen transparency, accountability, and oversight around immigration enforcement in our state." He added, "This is about stepping up where the federal government has failed our communities." This ban will go into effect in 2027 as part of a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/29/california-bans-electric-shock-gloves-ice">suite of bills</a> signed by Newsom in response to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity in California. Other measures include a 25 percent tax on companies operating immigration detention facilities in the state, a ban on face coverings by federal agents, and a law expanding oversight requirements for federal immigration detention centers in California.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2026/08/ice-shock-gloves-torture-compliant-technologies-jeff-niklaus/">As previously reported</a>, the shock gloves purchased by ICE have been the subject of several lawsuits, including a wrongful death suit:</p>
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow"><p>A <a href="https://www.wkyt.com/2025/10/29/kentucky-man-died-after-being-tased-40-times-jail-lawsuit-claims/">pending wrongful death lawsuit</a> alleges that a 43-year-old man named Jonathan Mansfield died because corrections officers shocked him 27 times with the gloves and 13 times with a Taser. Two of the glove shocks lasted 45 and 99 seconds, exceeding the manufacturer’s recommended limit of 15 seconds. Another man with heart problems has also sued over allegations that he was shocked at a Las Vegas trade show. In 2023, an inmate in Kentucky’s Bullitt County Jail sued an employee of the jail for <a href="https://www.wdrb.com/wdrb-investigates/former-bullitt-county-jail-inmate-who-was-shocked-with-electric-gloves-files-lawsuit/article_fa945680-98ee-11ed-95a3-8fb8e091cc15.html">shocking him repeatedly</a> with the gloves.</p></blockquote>
<p>California's ban on shock gloves is likely to face legal challenges, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has indicated it will not comply with the law. A DHS spokesperson stated, "Sanctuary politicians attempting to ban our federal law enforcement from any safety equipment is despicable and a deliberate attempt to undermine and endanger our officers. To be crystal clear: we will not abide by unconstitutional bans. The Supremacy Clause makes it clear that California’s sanctuary politicians do not control federal law enforcement."</p>
<p>Jeff Niklaus, CEO of Compliant Technologies, the manufacturer of the gloves, attributed the ban to "political bias" and a lack of understanding of his product. In a September 22 YouTube video, he stated, "We were never contacted by any legislator or agency within California," and described the gloves as the "<a href="https://www.hrw.org/news/2026/08/18/us-ice-to-deploy-dangerous-electric-shock-gloves">safest, most humane deescalatory product probably ever to come along</a>."</p>