Derek Chauvin
© AFP PHOTO / Facebook / Darnella FRAZIERDerek Chauvin
A former Minneapolis police officer who was taken into custody after George Floyd's death on May 25 is seeking to get the judge to drop the murder charges against him.

The lawyer for Derek Chauvin, who knelt on Floyd's neck for nearly nine minutes, filed court documents claiming that the prosecution's case lacks probable cause to support the charges it's filed, according to KARE11. He has been charged with second-degree and third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter In Floyd's death.

The defense also filed a motion to change the venue of the case.

On the same day, however, prosecutors requested that harsher penalties be considered should they be found guilty.

The other three officers who were on the scene when Floyd died (J. Alexander Kueng, Tou Thao, and Thomas Lane) have each been charged with aiding and abetting second-degree murder and aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. All three officers, who have been fired alongside Chauvin, have also sought to get the charges against them dropped.

Floyd's death sparked nationwide protests, and there were calls to raise awareness about police brutality against people of color.