Philadelphia Mayor Cherelle L. Parker renewed her push for broader involuntary commitment laws after a police officer was killed and another wounded in a West Philadelphia shooting, asking Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and state lawmakers to allow involuntary treatment for people with substance use disorder. Parker made the request Saturday, Oct. 10, outside Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. Pennsylvania law currently permits involuntary commitment when a person is considered a danger to themselves or others because of severe mental illness; substance or alcohol use alone is not enough. Parker said she wants the law to cover substance use disorder and other behavioral challenges that could affect public safety. Shapiro’s office said he had discussed the issue with Parker and would review the law. The shooting’s connection to the policy debate remains unclear. Eric Lewis, a city water department employee charged with murder and related counts in the shooting that killed Officer Shane Seiber, had court-ordered substance-use treatment in 2012 and a drug and alcohol assessment in 2015. But police officials have not said that Lewis currently had substance-use problems or that drugs were involved in the shooting. District Attorney Larry Krasner called it premature to draw that conclusion. Parker has made expanded commitment authority a longstanding goal as her administration focuses on Kensington, where open drug use and sales have persisted for decades. A bill introduced in May 2025 by state Sens. Daniel Laughlin, a Republican, and Anthony Williams, a Democrat, would amend the state’s Mental Health Procedures Act to classify substance use disorder and alcohol dependence as mental illnesses. Williams said Parker asked him to sponsor it. The measure has not received a committee hearing and remains stalled in the Senate. The legislative session ends in November. If the bill does not pass, Williams said he wants to reintroduce it in January, when a new session begins. He argued that current legal limits prevent some tragedies, though the circumstances of the West Philadelphia shooting have not established that an expanded law would have affected Lewis. Under the existing law, commonly called a 302 petition, health professionals, police or others responsible for a person can seek an emergency evaluation when they believe the person poses a danger because of severe mental illness. An authorized patient may be held in an inpatient facility for up to five days; longer treatment requires additional court filings. The American Society of Addiction Medicine reported that 34 states allowed involuntary commitment when substance use disorder was a patient’s primary diagnosis as of 2024. The proposal has drawn opposition from some harm-reduction advocates. Carla Sofronski, executive director of the Pennsylvania Harm Reduction Network, said forced treatment can be harmful and questioned whether the health system could adequately care for an influx of people experiencing withdrawal from the region’s toxic drug supply. She also emphasized that patients should have the right to make decisions about their own bodies.