As law enforcement agencies nationwide debate new less-lethal tools, electric shock gloves have become a flashpoint in the broader fight over use of force and oversight. In California, that debate has narrowed to Assembly Bill 2760, which would ban the devices statewide through Jan. 1, 2030, if Gov. Gavin Newsom signs it. The measure advanced after reports that federal immigration authorities planned a large purchase of the gloves for field use.
California lawmakers send AB 2760 to the governor
The California Legislature passed AB 2760 on Aug. 31, sending the bill to Newsom after the Assembly concurred in Senate amendments, according to the state bill history tracked by LegiScan. The bill, authored by Assemblymember LaShae Sharp-Collins of San Diego, would prohibit any law enforcement agency, including federal law enforcement agencies, from using a wearable electroshock device within California.
The bill text defines that device specifically as a weapon designed to incapacitate a person by electric shock and designed to be worn as a glove. It separately states that taser-style devices and stun guns held like a pistol are not included in the definition, according to the amended legislative text. AB 2760 would also bar state or local agencies from using state funds to buy the gloves and would require agencies to update their use-of-force policies.
The measure is temporary by design. Under the bill text, the prohibition would remain in effect until Jan. 1, 2030, and the California Department of Justice’s Division of Law Enforcement would have to study the safety and community impacts of the devices and report recommendations to the Legislature by Jan. 1, 2029. The measure was amended and fast-tracked in the final days of the legislative session, according to CalMatters.
If signed, the bill would apply across California to state, local and federal law enforcement agencies operating in the state, based on the language in AB 2760. That makes the proposal broader than a policy aimed only at local police departments, because it expressly includes federal agencies in its definition of law enforcement.
What is not yet known is whether any California state or local departments currently use shock gloves or how many agencies would need to revise internal policies. Public reporting around the bill has focused largely on federal immigration enforcement, and no comprehensive statewide list of agencies using or considering the devices has been publicly released. The bill also does not change the legality of other handheld electroshock weapons that fall outside its glove-specific definition.
For residents, the immediate next step is the governor’s decision. As of the Legislature’s Aug. 31 action, the measure had passed both chambers but had not yet taken effect. If Newsom signs it, agencies in California would need to align their policies with the new prohibition while the Justice Department study proceeds.
The bill gained momentum after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement moved ahead with a contract to buy the devices. The Associated Press reported that ICE awarded a $16.7 million contract to purchase 6,000 pairs of electric shock gloves from Compliant Technologies LLC, saying officers could use them to control detainees and protesters who resist.
According to the AP, federal contracting documents said the gloves would be used in high-tension settings including arrests, detainee transport and responses to civil disturbances. ICE said the devices could help officers gain control quickly and avoid more severe force, while critics in Congress and civil rights groups questioned the need for the equipment and the safeguards around its use.
That split carried into Sacramento. CalMatters reported that immigrant and civil rights advocates backed the California bill, while the California State Sheriffs’ Association and other law enforcement groups opposed it, arguing it would remove a lower-level force option. The legislation now leaves the final decision with Newsom, with the bill’s current text setting up a statewide ban through 2030 and a DOJ study before that sunset date.