A sporting police sergeant with a love of the community beat adopted Bermuda as his home from his arrival on the island in 1968.

Steve Dunleavy served on Bermuda’s murder squad during the tumultuous period of unrest after the Governor, Sir Richard Sharples, was assassinated alongside his aide-de-camp, Captain Hugh Sayers, on the night of March 11, 1973.

Mr Dunleavy was part of the team investigating the murders at Government House, and he was the first officer on the scene the following month, when supermarket workers Victor Rego and Mark Doe were shot dead during an armed robbery at the Shopping Centre in Hamilton.

The Shopping Centre murders were part of the case against Erskine “Buck” Burrows and Larry Tacklyn, who were convicted and hanged in 1977 — setting off the worst rioting in Bermuda’s history.

His son, Christian Dunleavy, told The Royal Gazette that the brutality of the Shopping Centre murders was “seared into his memory”.

“He was a police officer during a consequential time in Bermuda, and he often talked about what a difficult and complex time that was,” Mr Dunleavy said.

“He loved policing and he loved being out and about in the island. He was never somebody who wanted to be behind a desk. He liked to be moving in the community and helping people.

“He connected with Bermuda immediately when he came here, and Bermuda was very good to him as well.”

Originally from the town of Bolton in Lancashire, Mr Dunleavy was early into his career when he spotted a newspaper advertisement for officers in Bermuda.

“From the sound of it, he jumped at that opportunity immediately and never looked back,” his son said.

Mr Dunleavy was proud to call himself Bermudian and loved wearing Bermuda-themed clothes when he travelled abroad.

An avid athlete, Mr Dunleavy played football for Prospect FC in the Commercial Division as well as cricket for the police team.

He was a keen snooker player who won the Bermuda singles snooker championship five times between 1986 and 1993, and won the doubles title three times with fellow policeman Andy Wright in the 1980s.

He was a lifelong member of Warwick Workmen’s Club and played snooker on the club’s team.

Proud of his Lancastrian roots, Mr Dunleavy was also a keen follower of the Bolton Wanderers football team.

According to the Bermuda Ex-Police Association, Mr Dunleavy served on the Lancashire police force from November 1965 to December 1967.

“Following attendance at a localisation course, Steve was posted to Western Division (Somerset) where he worked initially in uniform before being posted to Western CID as an aide in July 1968.

“Being a detective was definitely his calling and Steve spent most of his police career in CID.”

He was promoted to sergeant in 1978, and in 1983 he was awarded the Colonial Police Medal for long service and good conduct.

Mr Dunleavy retired in 1997 after nearly 30 years on the job in Bermuda.

He was closely involved with the Bermuda Red Cross in the 1980s and 1990s, teaching CPR and running the charity’s camp on White’s Island.

In recent years, Mr Dunleavy delivered food to the needy for the charity Meals on Wheels, priding himself on his knowledge of the island’s neighbourhoods.

His son said: “He knew Bermuda like the back of his hand. He was a humble guy who enjoyed being out and spending time with other people.”

Mr Dunleavy and his wife, Susan, were married in 1970, and had three children — Sean, Christian and Katherine,

A celebration of his life is planned for Sunday at 4pm at the Royal Hamilton Amateur Dinghy Club.

• John Stephen Dunleavy, a long-serving police sergeant, was born on June 24, 1946. He died on December 29, 2023, aged 77