SMOKEY POINT, Wash. -- A man police said has been investigated for impersonating a police officer for more than 10 years was arrested last week by Arlington police.

Police said that last fall, Ronald R. Johnson entered a Smokey Point drug store wearing a Washington State Patrol coat and was accompanied by a German shepherd dog wearing a vest adorned with WSP patches.

Johnson picked up a prescription for the painkiller OxyContin, but when his debit card was rejected, he told the clerk he had cash in his vehicle and left without paying.

Police said that Johnson, who is a long-haul truck driver who lives in Wallace, Idaho, was meeting with many doctors and pharmacies in Washington, Idaho, Montana and Kentucky and asking for OxyContin. He had repeatedly told various health care providers that he was a law enforcement officer, investigators said.

Officials said police agencies in Washington and Idaho have investigated Johnson for impersonating a police officer since 1997.

Johnson was arrested by Arlington police for an arrest warrant on charges of theft and criminal impersonation on May 6 after he was seen in a store in Smokey Point.

He was booked into the Snohomish County Jail.