4 Policemen Given Medals of Valor : Law enforcement: The presentation was the first time that four have been awarded in the same year. The last such award was given in 1983.

Stories of heroism abounded.

One officer saved a baby held at gunpoint. A sergeant, on vacation, rescued a drowning man. Another officer shot an armed suspect who had overpowered another policeman. Yet another pulled a driver out of a burning car that had crashed after a 90-m.p.h. chase.

These four Long Beach police officers received the department’s highest honor, the Medal of Valor, this week for risking their lives to save others.

It is the first time since 1983 that the highest honor has been awarded, and the first time in the 24-year history of the awards that four such honors were given in the same year to members of the 680-officer force.

“This was some year for actions above and beyond the call of duty,” said Cmdr. Ray E. Jordan, department spokesman.

Also at Tuesday’s ceremony, 46 citizens and 26 other officers were commended for acts of heroism last year.

“These stories show how important the work of the police officers is, and it’s important to recognize these achievements,” new Police Chief William C. Ellis said at a luncheon at the Long Beach Hilton ballroom.

The 1991 Medal of Valor recipients:

* James Hill--On Christmas Day, 1990, he responded to a violent family dispute and found a man holding a gun at his baby daughter’s head. Hill chased the suspect but did not fire his weapon. The man, still holding the child, jumped off an apartment roof. Neither was seriously injured, and Hill took the suspect into custody.

Hill’s wife, Dianne, accepted the award. Her husband has been hospitalized the past five months for treatment of spinal cancer. “It’s such a happy and a sad day for me,” she said after the ceremony. “I wish he were here.”

Sgt. Mike Peters--While vacationing in Arizona and testing a friend’s new motorboat, he noticed an empty boat circling out of control. He dived into the water and rescued a 37-year-old man who could not swim. Peters, who has been with the department for 23 years, was a modest recipient. “It was a group effort,” he said of the rescue.

Kevin Peterson--The six-year veteran on the force found himself in hand-to-hand combat with a gunman who had overpowered another officer. Peterson was knocked to the ground but rolled out of the suspect’s shooting range, then shot and killed the gunman. Officials said his actions saved the life of a fellow officer. “I’m still not sure if it was heroic,” said Peterson, who was bruised by a bullet during the struggle.

Roy Walker--The officer was working a graveyard shift when he heard about a high-speed chase along 7th Street near his location. Walker took up the chase, which had reached speeds of up to 90 m.p.h., until the driver crashed into a parked car, which burst into flames. Walker forced open the driver’s door and pulled the suspect out of his car before it also caught fire. “I was kind of scared because I was wearing nothing fire-retardant, but I suppose the Adrenalin made me strong enough to go over there and pry him out,” said Walker, who has been on the force for eight years. “He wasn’t a suspect anymore to me; he was a victim who needed my help. I never saw him again after that.”

During the ceremony, clerk supervisor Patricia Lewis, who has been with the department 17 years, became the first civilian employee to be receive the department’s Employee of the Year award.