A 17-year-old Cincinnati gunman has been charged with attempted murder in a South Fairmount shooting Saturday that easily could have left rookie 23-year-old police Officer Katrina Neal dead. It was the third time in a month that Cincinnati officers have had a shootout with armed suspects. At a Monday news conference, Police Chief Tom Streicher said the homeless teen shooter told police "flat-out that his intention was to kill that police officer."

No community groups marched on Cincinnati City Hall to demand an end to shooting at police. No ministers went before the cameras to express outrage at the lethal danger officers face daily from gun-toting young outlaws. This community and the courts need to come down hard on increasingly brash gunmen of any age who have grown so unrestrained they do not even flinch at trying to kill a cop.

On Feb. 19, a bullet smashed through the windshield of Officer Patrick Galligan's unmarked detective's car as he was driving on Liberty Street in the West End. Galligan rolled out and returned fire, hitting 21-year-old Michael White in the foot. White was charged with attempted murder. On Feb. 6, after a traffic stop by a uniformed officer in North Fairmount, Jabari Dailey of Mount Auburn ran and aimed a sawed-off shotgun at officers giving chase. Undercover Officers Chris Vogelpohl and Colleen Deegan fired and hit Dailey in the shoulder. Dailey was indicted for felonious assault and other charges.

The teen shooter case Saturday is extraordinary for several reasons, not least that four officers failed to find a .25-caliber semiautomatic pistol and holster concealed between the 17-year-old's legs inside his baggy pants. Officer Neal was transporting the suspect to juvenile detention on a charge of stealing a money order from a Westwood woman and also for violating previous Juvenile Court orders. Although handcuffed behind his back in the rear seat, he managed to draw the hidden gun and fire repeatedly at the back of Neal's head. A plastic divider deflected several rounds. Neal rolled out of the police car and, at risk to her own life, first stopped traffic to keep motorists out of range. Then she took cover and fired one shot, which pierced the rear of the police car and hit the gunman in the shoulder. Before he emptied his gun, one of his rounds grazed a female bystander.

Police officials need to find out if the officers conducting pat-downs were simply careless or are backing off too much after community objections to police arrest methods. "There was simply not a good enough search done - period," Streicher said. Officers should be more vigilant than ever, given that many suspects are armed and not hesitant about firing at police. The four cops may face counseling, but punishment should be reserved for the gunman. The suspect faces a March 18 hearing on whether he should be tried as an adult.

We all need to keep in mind that police officers face a clear and present danger whenever they try to take in a suspect, because so many nowadays carry guns.