Arkansas Trooper Claims Inspectors Title; Win Is ‘Bittersweet’ After Competitor’s Death

This story appears in the Sept. 2 print edition of Transport Topics.

SALT LAKE CITY — Arkansas Highway Police Cpl. Derek Canard won the North American Inspectors Championship, claiming not only the Jimmy K. Ammons Grand Champion trophy but also four individual first-place trophies and a team award.

However, Canard said his strong showing here was blemished by the sudden death of a fellow competitor and friend, New York State trooper William Keane.

“It was really bittersweet,” Canard told Transport Topics. “I’d worked really hard for a long time to get that honor. At the same time, everything that happened with Billy and his family was weighing heavy on my heart.”

Keane, 56, died of a heart attack Aug. 23, hours after the competition ended.

“Billy was just a really great guy,” Canard said. “He was proud of what he did. I immediately knew when I met Billy that he was the type of person you’d want to role model yourself after.”

In addition to his selection as the top inspector of the 52 in the competition, Canard, 32, also was honored with the U.S. high points award, North American Standard Level I Inspection award, North American Standard Level V Passenger Vehicle Inspection award, North American Standard Hazardous Materials Inspection award and the competition’s team award.

The NAIC, held Aug. 19-23, was sponsored by the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance and conducted in conjunction with American Trucking Associations’ National Truck Driving Championships.

Canard made it to the national competition four previous times but failed to win a top award. “I placed second twice,” he said. “It was eating at me.”

Canard worked his first two years as a state trooper at a weigh station but has been a roadside inspector stationed in Tuckerman, Ark., for the past six years. Before that, he worked as a night county detention officer while attending college.

While he worked at the jail, two Arkansas trooper friends convinced him to apply for a job opening in the state’s commercial vehicle inspection unit.

“Once I got here, it really be-came a passion,” Canard said. “It’s not anything close to traditional police work.”

While his fellow state troopers are limited mostly to helping their state and its communities, Canard’s sphere of influence is much broader, he said.

“When you take an unsafe driver or truck off the road, not only have you protected the area where you live, but you may have protected people days, weeks or months down the road from a catastrophic event anywhere in the United States,” Canard said.

By the same token, Canard said he enjoys sharing stories with over-the-road truck drivers.

“You’re out here enforcing the law, but at the same time, there’s no reason you can’t walk away from a traffic stop and have a friend,” he said.

As for his slate of awards, he gives a lot of the credit to his boss, Inspector Bucky Thomas.

“We’re all only as good as Bucky makes us,” Canard said.

The competition was so tough, Canard said, that if the contest were held 52 times, “there would be 52 winners.”

“No one got there by happenstance,” he said. “Everybody got there because either they earned it through winning a state competition or because they demonstrated excellence in what they do.”

Meanwhile, Keane’s life and professional career were remembered at the reception following the competition, when he was posthumously awarded the John Youngblood Award of Excellence. The award, voted on by the competitors, is given to the contestant who exemplifies the spirit of cooperation, leadership and congeniality.

Attendees of NAIC and the National Truck Driving Championships collected more than $6,000 for Keane’s family. He is survived by his wife, Sharon, seven children and five grandchildren.

Donations for Keane’s survivors can be made to: New York State Troopers Police Benevolent Association Signal 30 Fund, NYS Troopers PBA, 120 State St., Albany, NY 12207 or online at www.nystpba.org/Home.aspx and click on Signal 30 Fund.