Many of the companies awarded federal contracts to help carry out President Trump’s immigration agenda are major corporations with a long history of doing work for the government.
That is not the case with the small company that may soon get millions of dollars by selling electric shock gloves for use by ICE agents.
Compliant Technologies LLC is the maker of the Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, the glove able to deliver a low voltage shock on skin contact.
A notice posted Monday by the Department of Homeland Security shows an intent to buy $10-$20 million worth of the devices “which will be issued to Homeland Security Investigations (H.S.I.) and Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) officers and agents.”
RELATED STORY | ICE plans to give officers gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks
Compliant Technologies is listed in federal contracting records as a veteran-owned business with a residential address in Nicholasville, Ky.
It has been registered as a federal government contractor since 2023, but public records show no record of the company ever receiving a federal contract or purchase order.
That stands in contrast to Axon, a company that has provided millions of dollars worth of Taser stun guns to the U.S. government over the years.
Compliant Technologies has outfitted smaller police departments with its signature gloves that electrify when an officer presses a button.
The company declined to answer questions sent in an email from Scripps News but its founder has spoken online about his business’ track record.
“Compliant Technologies sits at over 400 agencies in 40 states in 9 countries, with over 40,000 uses,” said Compliant Technologies founder Jeff Niklaus in a video posted online. “We normally take people down in less than 3 seconds. We’ve had no injuries or lawsuits to this point.”
Questions have arisen about the ethics and lawfulness of ICE using the gloves of the gloves during the kind of intense confrontations playing out in places like Falls Church, Va., where an ICE agent pulled a gun on a driver this week.
ICE, Inc. | Inside the companies profiting from the Trump administration's immigration agenda
New York attorney general Letitia James said use of the gloves appear to violate multiple state laws.
“In the event a New Yorker is injured as a result of these gloves, there will be a private right of action and action from the state of New York, you can be sure of that,” James said during a Wednesday news conference.
While has posted an intention to buy the gloves, there is no record of any any contract award or purchase order to actually buy the devices.
When asked about the gloves, the Department of Homeland Security said it is constantly assessing the tools officers use to make arrests safely, consistent with federal law and standards.
