ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. – A St. Louis pastor was charged Thursday for false impersonation of a police officer after he used emergency lights to cut through traffic in St. Charles.

According to prosecutors, Rev. Michael Wallace was removed from Abyssinian Baptist Church in north St. Louis for not following church laws.

“You never know. We can only pray for him and lift him and his family up,” said Pastor Keith Boyd.

St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar said the dispatch officer was able to locate the vehicle in question, made a traffic stop, and found Wallace’s vehicle had been equipped with a siren and police lights.

Wallace told investigators that he was a chaplain with the East St. Louis Police Department and he believed he had the same privileges as police officers. East St. Louis Police Chief Jerry Simon issued the following statement:

“We have no current chaplain. We are completely redoing the chaplain program with full background checks, etc. The chaplain program has not been in effect since the beginning of this year. It was ceased in an effort to revamp procedures and background checks. Michael Wallace is not on current list that I have.”

Investigators said that did not stop the pastor from flashing lights and a blaring siren to zip through traffic.

Earlier this week, Wallace was caught on camera coming up fast alongside another car. On Wednesday, a St. Charles officer spotted the same vehicle with lights flashing on Westbound I-70 near the Fifth Street exit. Eventually, another officer located the vehicle near the Cave Springs exit.