The dismissal of a well-known detective superintendent announced on December 13 took much of the community by surprise, with a former officer writing to The Royal Gazette in defence of Nicholas Pedro as “a top-notch senior police officer of remarkable capability”.

Separately, assistant commissioner Martin Weekes, who had been placed on restricted duties by the Bermuda Police Service after being entangled this year in charges of gross misconduct, was back on the job after an independent inquiry found no case to answer — with one direction that he receives “management advice”.

Mr Pedro “reluctantly” came forward to clear the air on his matter, which he said involved “unproven” allegations of hostility towards a fellow officer.

Giving context to the matter, he referenced search warrants filed for two officers over leaked legal documents.

Mr Pedro said he was found against by the investigation panel after “an honest mistake when a fellow officer was swearing the information for the search warrant”.

He said he had appeared before a magistrate to support his colleague, but had neglected to tell the court that he had been referred to in the application.

Mr Pedro told the Gazette: “This was not a dishonest mistake, albeit my honest omission was viewed seriously.”

Going public about the matter was the former officer’s choice, citing “intense media and general public interest”.

In the case of Mr Weekes, Na’imah Astwood, the Deputy Commissioner of Police, cited “the public attention this matter has garnered” as well as “the interest of transparency” in naming the officer involved.

That matter stemmed from a complaint over police promotions and a conversation via social media that ended up as court evidence, between Mr Weekes and another officer, which included remarks that the Court of Appeal found “not in keeping with the high standards to be expected” of the Bermuda Police Service.

The two matters roiled the BPS at a time of year when most officers were focused on keeping the peace and ensuring road safety during the festive season.

Tragically, in the early hours of December 16, Khiry Furbert, a father and former Cup Match cricketer, was discovered fatally shot on Tribe Road No 5 in Paget.

The 34-year-old was a longtime wicketkeeper for Western Stars Sports Club — reaching a personal highlight by being selected in the summer of 2022 to the Somerset Cup Match team and by Bermuda for international duty in Jersey.

The loss of Mr Furbert, who left behind an 11-year-old daughter, prompted an outpouring of tributes from sports clubs.

It was a grim reminder of Bermuda’s undercurrent of entrenched violent crime — the topic of a lengthy debate on December 6 in the House of Assembly, when MPs discussed the National Violence Reduction Strategy.

Unveiled in the previous month’s Throne Speech, the document pledged a new direction for calming violence and gang activity, and won bipartisan support.

December came with international attention for the island with the saga of 100 highly valuable pedigree pigs brought off a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines flight from Amsterdam to Mexico City.

The flight had to be diverted to Bermuda after ventilation issues caused a stink on board for passengers and crew.

Jonathan Nisbett, the Government’s chief veterinary officer, had to ensure the animals’ welfare without cracking the seals on their crates, which would have invalidated their travel documents and allowed their destination country to reject the shipment.

Upon the arrival of the next KLM flight, the pilot told Dr Nisbett that Bermuda had become famous back in the Netherlands.

December meant that Christmas dominated community events, and one festive tradition in particular — the Christmas Boat Parade — treated crowds to their second dazzling choreographed drone show of the year over Hamilton Harbour.

The parade, which dates back to 1998, adopted a new look when the 15-minute aerial display took to the skies and performed a Bermuda-themed Christmas tale.

Also in December, an issue closely observed by the Gazette got its day in Parliament with the tabling of the Clean Air Amendment Bill 2024 on December 6 in the House of Assembly, to bring the island’s air standards ahead of those in Britain and the European Union.

The Gazette extensively covered pollution issues plaguing the Belco power station and its neighbours in its “Clearing the Air” investigative series launched last year.

Legislators approved the legislation on December 13.

Other December headlines in politics came with the announcement that same day in the House of tax breaks worth $45 million for the upcoming financial year.

It came from David Burt, the Premier and Minister of Finance, as he tabled the Pre-Budget Report, pledging cuts to charges on energy, customs duty for building supplies, private car licensing and land tax.

It was a token of the highly consequential step for Bermuda waiting in 2025: the first revenue collections from corporate income tax.