California Governor Gavin Newsom signed a law on Tuesday banning local, state, and federal law enforcement officers from using gloves capable of delivering electric shocks. The prohibition on these devices will take effect next year and remain in place until 2030.
This legislative action comes weeks after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) moved to equip its officers with such gloves. ICE had awarded a nearly $17 million contract last month to purchase 6,000 pairs, which are designed to gain compliance from combative individuals.
Governor Newsom stated that California is taking action to strengthen transparency, accountability, and oversight around immigration enforcement in the state. He asserted that political interests had been prioritized over the health, safety, and livelihood of American families.
Democratic California Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins introduced the legislation to "put a pause" on law enforcement's use of these devices while the state examines their potential risks. The new law requires the state's Justice Department to study the gloves' safety and report its findings to lawmakers by 2029. Sharp-Collins noted public unrest and uncertainty, with many individuals feeling scared. She identified ICE's plan to use shock gloves as the catalyst for the ban, also citing a 2024 case in Kentucky where a man allegedly died after being tased and shocked with the gloves while in law enforcement custody.
This law represents the latest example of how Democratic-led states have pushed back against federal immigration enforcement efforts. California lawmakers passed numerous bills this year to fortify immigrants' rights, restrict cooperation with federal immigration agents, and tighten regulations on immigrant detention facilities. Nationwide, Democratic-led legislatures in 17 states have passed over 100 pro-immigrant bills this year, primarily aimed at limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement agents.
Legal experts anticipate the law will test the state's authority to restrict federal agents amid federal immigration enforcement initiatives. A federal judge earlier this year blocked a California law that barred federal officers from wearing face coverings, deeming it too selective. Lawmakers subsequently passed a new bill to apply the face covering ban to all officers, which Governor Newsom also signed. Kevin Johnson, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Davis, School of Law, suggested that courts are likely to ultimately rule that the state cannot bar federal officers from using shock gloves or face coverings. He stated that these laws, while well-intentioned, likely conflict with the U.S. Constitution's Supremacy Clause, which establishes federal law as supreme over conflicting state law. Professor Johnson added that the state has very limited authority, if any, to dictate how federal officers are armed.
California law enforcement groups broadly opposed the ban. Sacramento Sheriff Jim Cooper, a Democrat and former state lawmaker, argued that banning shock gloves makes no sense as they are among the non-lethal tools officers can use. Sheriff Cooper also claimed that the state Legislature often seeks to ban actions by the federal government, making law enforcement's job harder.
State Senator Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat who authored last year's mask ban and this year's measure to expand it to state officers, supported the new law. He expressed that California must use every available tool to defend communities from what he described as ICE's "secret police terror campaign."
The ban on shock gloves will take effect next year, while the state's Justice Department is tasked with studying their safety and reporting its findings to lawmakers by 2029.
