YOUNGSTOWN — An incident Tuesday night on the South Side proves that a police officer never knows what he might encounter next.

An incident involving Robert Garner, 29, started with a possible parking violation of a 2025 Ford Escape on the front lawn of a home in the 3300 block of Hillman Avenue and ended with Garner in danger of losing his life in the Mahoning River.

At 9:42 p.m., a Youngstown police officer and a trooper with the Ohio State Highway Patrol, riding together as part of the annual Impact Initiative, saw Garner in the parked vehicle lighting a glass pipe commonly used to smoke crack cocaine, a Youngstown police report states. The car was full of smoke.

The cruiser’s emergency lights were activated, and an officer approached Garner and told him to make his hands visible. Garner asked why and shut his driver’s door, turned on the car and drove through front yards on West Lucius Avenue all the way to Market Street, the report states.

The officers continued to pursue the Escape onto Market Street, this time on the pavement, and notified dispatch of the pursuit, which was at high speed. Garner disregarded red lights and proceeded onto Oak Hill Avenue, drove on the wrong side of the road at high speed in a “blatant disregard to public safety.”

The officer pursuit was terminated, the report states.

But a short time later, another pair of officers from Youngstown and the highway patrol saw the vehicle again on Market Street, still driving erratically in and out of traffic, and tried to stop the vehicle, which turned onto Wayne Street, then Erie Street on the South Side, and onto a dirt road over train tracks and became disabled on the train tracks, which caused officers to shut down the tracks for officer safety.

Garner exited the vehicle and fled on foot, jumping into the Mahoning River under a bridge near Cedar Street and Poland Avenue, just south of downtown.

“Garner began to swim across to the other side of the river until he realized he could not swim,” the report states.

“He then began to swim back but could not, at which time (two officers) jumped in the Mahoning River to save the life of Garner and also place him under arrest,” the report states.

After he was out of danger, officers handcuffed Garner and carried him back to his car because he was under the influence of drugs, the report states.

He admitted he was “high” and said he planned to use the firearm in the Escape to take his own life.

Paramedics were called and Garner was taken to St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital.

A loaded firearm was found on the front seat of the Escape, leading to the weapons charge. He is not allowed to possess a firearm because of earlier criminal convictions, the report states.

Garner was given a verbal warning for parking in the front yard.

Garner did not appear to be in the Mahoning County jail Wednesday afternoon, and he was not scheduled yet for arraignment on his charges, according to Youngstown Municipal Court and county jail records.