Newsom Signs California Ban on Electric Shock Gloves for Officers

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Tuesday barring local, state and federal law enforcement officers from using gloves capable of delivering painful electric shocks, a measure that takes effect next year and remains in force until 2030.

The ban follows a move by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to equip its officers with the gloves, which are designed to gain compliance from combative individuals. Last month, the agency awarded a contract worth nearly $17 million to purchase 6,000 pairs.

In a statement, Newsom accused President Donald Trump of placing political interests above the wellbeing of American families, saying California was acting to strengthen transparency, accountability and oversight of immigration enforcement within the state.

The law is the latest instance of Democratic-led states pushing back against the Trump administration's immigration enforcement since he took office last year. California lawmakers advanced at least two dozen bills this year aimed at fortifying immigrants' rights, limiting cooperation with federal immigration agents and tightening regulation of immigrant detention facilities. Across the country, 17 states with Democratic-led legislatures have passed more than 100 pro-immigrant bills this year, with the most common goal being to restrict cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.

Democratic Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins, who introduced the shock-gloves measure, said she sought to "put a pause" on law enforcement's use of the devices while the state examines their potential risks. The law directs the state Justice Department to study their safety and report to lawmakers by 2029. Sharp-Collins said ICE's plan to use the gloves was the catalyst for the ban, though she also pointed to their use by other officers, including a Kentucky case in which a family alleges a man died after being tased and shocked with the gloves dozens of times in law enforcement custody in 2024. She described a climate of unrest and uncertainty in which many people are scared.

The measure is expected to test California's authority to restrict federal agents. A federal judge earlier this year blocked the state's first-in-the-nation law barring federal officers from wearing face coverings, finding it too selective because it applied to local and federal law enforcement but exempted state officers. Lawmakers passed a new bill this year extending the ban to all officers, which Newsom also signed. State Sen. Scott Wiener, a San Francisco Democrat who authored last year's mask ban, wrote this year's expansion measure, saying California must use every available tool to stand up for its communities.

Kevin Johnson, a professor emeritus at the University of California, Davis, School of Law, said courts are likely to ultimately rule that the state cannot bar federal officers from wearing shock gloves or face coverings. He said the laws are well-intentioned but probably conflict with the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which generally establishes federal law as supreme over conflicting state law, adding that states have very limited, if any, power 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, said banning shock gloves "really makes no sense" because they are among the non-lethal tools officers can use when necessary, and complained that the Legislature moves to ban whatever the federal government does, making officers' jobs harder.