By Lauren Mickler

EUGENE, Ore. -- Police arrested Daniel Alloway at his Whiteaker apartment Thursday afternoon on 26 counts of impersonating a police officer and at least one count of obstructing government administration.

Alloway is a member of the National Guard, but police say he had a disturbing amount of people convinced he was a police officer, too.

As EPD continues to investigate, they are finding this war vet put a lot of effort into this phony facade.

Alloway wasn't just playing dress-up.

Police say he portrayed himself as Officer Dan Baker for at least a year, making traffic stops, assisting citizens with so-called investigations, and even volunteering with local kids at the Hosea Youth Project.

"At the Hosea Project, we were told he was visiting them a couple times a week for a year. He was answering questions of those youth about what it's like to be a police officer, and other law enforcement questions," said Eugene Police Investigator Sgt. Scott McKee.

Sgt. McKee says Alloway's act is unsettling, but even more disconcerting is how well he studied the character he played.

Police now know Alloway participated in ride-alongs with EPD, which were allowed because until Thursday, Alloway had no criminal record.

"It's a pretty elaborate process of infiltrating our ranks somewhat, in that he went out and did a ride along somewhat, so he had some eyes-on, hands-on interaction with the police department internally," Sgt. McKee said.

Police say his efforts toward authenticity extended all the way to uniforms and credentials, which Sgt. McKee say could've fooled even him.

"If it's convincing to me as a police officer who recognizes real uniforms, it's going to be really convincing to somebody who's not so trained," Sgt. McKee said.

Neighbors say Alloway even had the right accessories to match.

"I've seen him with handcuffs, guns, pepper spray," said former neighbor Kala Jenkins.

Jenkins says she lived next to Alloway for about a year and that he was open with his police props.

"Before I moved out, he wrote me a fake ticket, something about being a dumbass, and I ripped it up because I know it wasn't real. It was fake, and he sprayed pepper spray in our bedroom," Jenkins said.

While Jenkins says she knew Alloway wasn't a real cop, McKee says his impression is that most neighbors were convinced otherwise.

Police confirmed Alloway made at least one traffic stop and ran at least one "investigation" while he posed as an officer.

Officers want anyone with information on similar incidents involving Alloway to contact them.