California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Tuesday banning local, state and federal law enforcement officers from using gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks to people.
The ban on shock gloves will take effect next year and remain in place until 2030. It comes weeks after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement moved to equip its officers with the gloves, which are designed to gain compliance from combative individuals. Last month, the agency awarded a nearly $17 million contract to buy 6,000 pairs.
“Trump has put his political interests above the health, safety and livelihood of American families,” Newsom said in a statement. “California is taking action to strengthen transparency, accountability, and oversight around immigration enforcement in our state.”
The law is the latest example of how Democratic-led states have been pushing back against President Donald Trump’s immigration enforcement efforts since he took office last year. In California, lawmakers passed at least two dozen bills this year seeking to fortify immigrants’ rights, restrict cooperation with federal immigration agents and tighten regulations on immigrant detention facilities, among other things.
Nationwide, 17 states with Democratic-led legislatures have passed a total of more than 100 pro-immigrant bills this year, according to an Associated Press analysis using the bill tracking software Plural. The most common purpose is to limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agents.
Democratic California Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins said she introduced the shock-gloves legislation to “put a pause” on law enforcement’s use of the devices while the state examines their potential risks. The law requires the state’s Justice Department to study their safety and report to lawmakers by 2029.
“There’s a lot of unrest and a lot of uncertainty,” she said in an interview. “A lot of people are scared.”
I was about to post a meme referencing The Simpsons where Chief Wiggum orders Eddie to “swab” Homer with mace but it turns out that scene was a reference to the real case of the California Police swabbing protesters, WTF !?!!?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lundberg_v._County_of_Humboldt
The plaintiffs won a jury trial, but were awarded only $1 per person in damages.
Yup. 8 year legal battle to receive $1.
Fucking disgusting.
good, each use of those gloves is assault on a citizen with rights to not be secure in their person from low-iq tyrannical dipshit cops.
This is a thing?
I guarantee there’ll be videos soon of ICEholes holding people down and shocking them over and over, laughing as they yell, “Stop resisting” while the victim involuntarily spasms beneath them. And it probably won’t be long before someone with a heart condition dies from an ICEhole attack, too.
The ban on shock gloves will take effect next year
Ok
Years ago I trained against shock knives. I’d take that over a steel baton any day. The point that I am trying to make here is that the shock gloves are a bit of a distraction. The use of force is the issue. Bodycams should be required and the footage held by an accountable third party. Specific agents who can’t follow the rules should be fired from ICE and banned from all other LEOs.
Folks should also realize that people(actual illegals) fearing deportation will almost certainly not go quietly. Other people(legals) who are wrongly targeted should also have recourse which does not seem particularly evident today.
illegals
Gross. Immediate downvote. People can’t be illegal. Even doing an illegal activity does make a human being into an “illegal” person.
Edit: damn, the whole comment is super bootlicky. I’m surprised at the number of upvotes. ICE are actual henchmen following the words of a puppet being controlled by a fascist.
This 👆 but times 100. Even discussing this means you’ve accepted the framing that “some” use of force by ICE is acceptable, and now we have to have this discussion about where along the spectrum of state violence the use of force should no longer be considered acceptable.
ICE existing is unacceptable. Accepting that “some” use of force by ICE is acceptable presupposes that ICE existing is acceptable. You are not obligated to accept that framing.
edit: because I just noticed the use of “illegal” and “legal” and didn’t realize who I was responsive to.
I’ve had a shock glove used on me while I was handcuffed to a hospital bed. Twice. In a row.
I’ll tell you: it’s worse than a regular taser. These things absolutely should be banned.
There obviously needs to be more accountability for law enforcement as a whole, and more enforcement of rules against excessive force. ICE certainly needs to be defunded and dismantled. I’m not arguing with you there.
caveat:
Those are all complex issues that the California state legislature doesn’t exactly have the ability to implement immediately. They could pass stricter laws concerning abuses of authority, sure. They could also restructure accountability agencies to be more effective. But not only do those things take time and require enough legislative support, perhaps even up to constitutional amendment for major restructuring, its effectiveness also depends on people’s cooperation. They can make it more illegal for LEOs to use excessive force, but that doesn’t mean excessive force will immediately stop, and it doesn’t mean the people currently responsible for enforcing it will do a better job.
But lacking the ability to implement those needed reforms immediately and on a national scale, what the California state legislature does have control over is whether to allow this relatively new technology to be used by law enforcement in their state. And it is a good thing that they’re saying “no.”
It would be better if they made the ban permanent instead of expiring in 2030. And it would be better if the agency they tasked with determining the safety/risks wasn’t their freaking justice department. But banning it for 4 years is better than letting them start using them today.
As long as we have immigration laws, those laws have to be enforced by a designated law enforcement agency else the laws are meaningless. I have no desire to live in a lawless country. Most civilized, responsible adults do not either.
Unjust laws should be fought, and suggesting that laws should be enforced because they’re on the books is fucking asinine.
I have no desire to live in a lawless country.
Hope you don’t live in the US, cuz I’ve got a lot of bad news for you.
The simplest way to demonstrate the lawlessness of American society: take a drive some time (or recruit a friend for the experiment) and steadfastly remain at or below the speed limit. Especially on a long road with no passing lane. You will discover that following the law in this place is so abnormal that doing so will make your fellow Americans hate you.
Why didn’t ICE exist prior to 2002 if they’re so vital to a functioning society?
INS was incompetent but I’ll take incompetence over the industrial scale malice that is ICE
That’s a false dichotomy. The RUC was disbanded in Northern Ireland as a result of a long history of bias and sectarian abuse. The Camden NJ police force was also disolved due to widespread corruption. Both NI and Camden are doing far better than they were before these forces were replaced.
There’s other examples like Mexico’s Federal police being disbanded which haven’t been as successful, but eliminating ICE doesn’t mean there cannot or will not be immigration enforcement in the future.
There is no need to have a separate police force to deal with this, but the US loves redundant admin within law enforcement.
Jesus fucking tap-dancing, “I’ll do whatever it takes to enable fascism”, shitliberal christ.
The federal Flag Code, 4 U.S.C. § 8(i), says: “The flag should never be used for advertising purposes in any manner whatsoever.”
How much state violence should I be allowed to enact upon you, should you violate this Federal law, since you so desire to not live in a lawless country, liberal? How about shock-gloves and indefinite detention? This seems about right for your level of candor.
Intriguing how your comment reveals how the ICE activities have now become mainstream and completely acceptable. The public at large starts to discuss the “technicalities” of how deportations can be optimized - whether it is humane, necessary or even useful is no longer debated. Man, I hate this country.
I’VE shouldn’t be armed at all.
Their ACTUAL job is investigation paperwork issues. They are auditors not cops. You don’t need weapons for dealing with expired forms
Please deport me
~$3k a pair? Wtf are they made from, cordovan?
Gavin’s check didn’t clear for the veto, I guess?
It’s an easy thing to allow to pass truthfully for him.
The gloves aren’t real and will probably only ever exist as a graft funnel. It buys him some cheap cred with libs and doesn’t actually do anything about ICE so an easy pass for him.
A quick search brings up a lot of references, and a company that makes them.
I suppose it might be one big ruse, but I’m leaning toward believing they’re real.
A lot of references to shock-resistant gloves and a single company with a kickstarter-scam-like video of a guy putting them on and turning on an LED while waving his hands around. You cannot buy them unless you are “law enforcement” and the link to do so is a password protected page.
There are so many just conceptual level problems with the idea that I don’t see how it could possibly ever be something that results in a real, actual product. Did you find any evidence of anybody besides the company founder using this totally real, extant device?
If only they weren’t above the law
I’d rather they restrict firearms, instead.
