Electric shock gloves that work like a wearable taser are moving toward mass use by federal immigration agents, and right now nothing stops California police departments from buying them too. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) just awarded a $16.7 million contract for 6,000 pairs of these gloves, made by a Kentucky company called Compliant Technologies. Last year, a man in a Kentucky jail died after allegedly being shocked with one of these gloves 27 times, along with 13 additional shocks from a Taser.

California lawmakers introduced Assembly Bill (AB) 2760, which would stop ICE agents, along with state and local police, from wearing these shock gloves. The bill would also keep California police departments from using public money to buy them. Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins, who introduced the bill, said at a legislative hearing, "While the gloves are not currently being used in California, waiting for a tragedy to act, in my personal opinion, and so many others, would be something that California could not handle," according to a hearing recorded by California's Digital Democracy project.

Law enforcement groups oppose the bill, arguing it limits officers' ability to de-escalate situations. But a device capable of shocking someone nearly 30 times in one encounter is not de-escalation, it is a public safety risk with a body count.

Governor Gavin Newsom will decide whether AB 2760 becomes law. If he signs it, California becomes one of the first states in the country to draw a hard line against these devices before a tragedy happens here, and to make sure no local police department spends a single taxpayer dollar on them.

Sign the petition urging Governor Newsom to sign AB 2760 and keep electric shock gloves out of California policing, before someone here pays the price Kentucky already has.