8 law officers awarded Mo. Medal of Valor

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. -- Gov. Jay Nixon on Wednesday awarded the Medal of Valor to eight law enforcement officers for risking their lives to rescue or defend others.

Nixon presented the medals during a ceremony at the state Capitol based on the recommendations of a special review board. The annual awards are given to public safety officers who display exceptional courage, decisiveness and swiftness of action while attempting to save or protect lives.

The recipients are:

* Mathew Crosby and Jorden Lewis of the Rock Hill Police Department, who engaged in shootout April 8, 2010, with a wanted felon from Tennessee while they were responding to a domestic violence dispute. Crosby suffered a gunshot wound that paralyzed him from the waist down.

* Donald Doza of the Missouri State Highway Patrol, who on April 28, 2010, helped pull an elderly accident victim to safety from a burning vehicle just moments before it exploded on Interstate 70 in Cooper County.

* Joseph Haman of the St. Louis Police Department, who called in detailed information about an assailant after being shot multiple times during a traffic stop on May 27, 2010, allowing other officers to locate and arrest the gunman later that day.

* Steven Landsness of the O'Fallon Police Department, who while off duty rescued a woman from the Missouri River in Florissant on Oct. 23, 2010.

* Darren Rodgers of the Arnold Police Department and Gerald Williams of the Jefferson County Sheriff's Department, who on Jan. 29, 2010, captured a gunman suspected of stealing weapons. Williams was shot in a struggle with the suspect, and Rodgers then shot the suspect.

* Kenneth Smith Jr. of the St. Joseph Police Department, who shot and killed a gunman during a struggle while responding to a domestic violence report on July 21, 2010.