Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz's appointment of former Hennepin County Judge Peter Cahill to a newly created state council creates the appearance of a "quid pro quo" arrangement, former Minneapolis police officer Tou Thao said in an interview, arguing the judge who presided over his prosecution was being rewarded for advancing a predetermined narrative.

Speaking with Alpha News reporter Liz Collin on her podcast, Thao said Cahill's appointment to a council tasked with documenting "the truth" of Operation Metro Surge raises questions about the body's objectivity.

Cahill presided over the prosecutions of former Minneapolis police officers Derek Chauvin, Alex Kueng, Thomas Lane, and Thao following the May 25, 2020, arrest of George Floyd outside Cup Foods in south Minneapolis.

"It certainly has the appearance of quid pro quo," Thao said. "I suppose with the governor leaving office, it makes sense for him to reward his puppets and those who are willing to do his bidding."

The appointment came shortly after the premiere of Alpha News' documentary "Minnesota Mao" and days after Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara announced his resignation.

Thao said Cahill had determined his guilt before hearing his defense.

"Cahill determined I was guilty before I even presented my case to him," Thao said. "So this is the person that Gov. Walz is appointing … perhaps he is the perfect person to implement a predetermined narrative to meet a judgment that Walz wants."

He added that Walz and Cahill "wouldn't know the truth if it hit them in the face."

Thao, who served nearly nine years with the Minneapolis Police Department, was one of four officers convicted in connection with Floyd's death.

Video evidence from the incident showed Thao standing in the street keeping onlookers back while Chauvin and two other officers remained with Floyd as they awaited an ambulance. Thao also called for an EMS ambulance "code three" shortly after Floyd was removed from a police squad car.

Thao served more than three years in prison before being released in November 2025 and remains on supervised release.

During the interview, Thao said he wanted to bring to light what he described as "communist" and "Marxist" methods employed by the prosecution.

"I just wanted to expose the communist, Marxist tactics that were used against us, and if they were willing to use it against us, I trust that they would be willing to use it against your regular citizens," he said.

"I want to expose and give the truth because what they want is to smother the truth. And I think we can kind of see that in the last eight years in the Walz administration," Thao added.

Thao also said he and the other officers wanted police body camera footage released as quickly as possible after Floyd's death.

"One of the things we wanted to happen was to release the body cameras as soon as possible just to show what true transparency is," he said. "We didn't have anything to hide. So for them to not show body cameras is really an indictment on what they were trying to do behind the scenes."