A Cleveland appeals court has dismissed a motion filed by a group of local activists seeking to have two white police officers criminally charged in the killing of a 12-year-old black boy, shot and killed while holding a pellet gun in a park near his home.

According to Yahoo! News, Ohio's 8th District Court of Appeals on Friday moved to uphold a judge's ruling that she lacked judicial authority to criminally charge the officer's in connection with the death of Tamir Rice.

The boy's killing was among several incidents that sparked national outrage and civil unrest across the country stemming from the unfair way many minorities perceive their treatment to be at the hand of law enforcement.

In Cleveland, a group of activists submitted affidavits asking Municipal Court judge Ronald Adrine to charge the officers based on a video showing one of them shooting the boy within seconds of arriving at the playground outside a recreation center where he was playing.

Calling themselves the Group of Eight, the activists used a section of state law that stipulates private citizens can file affidavits with a judge when they believe a crime has occurred. The law also says that if a judge determines there's probable cause, which is considered a low evidentiary hurdle, charges "shall" be filed.

While admitting that enough evidence exists to charge patrolman Timothy Loehmann with murder and partner Frank Garmback with misdemeanors, the municipal court judge deferred the formal filing of charges to prosecutors.

Video recorded from a surveillance camera shows the rookie Loehmann opening fire on the boy within two seconds of arriving on the scene as Garmback skidded to a stop in their police cruiser. Police officials had previously claimed Loehmann ordered the boy to put his hands up at least three different times before firing his weapon.

Police have insisted the officers were responding to a 911 call of a man waving and pointing a gun and weren't told the caller said the gun could be a fake and the man was actually an adolescent. County prosecutors have since maintained that a grand jury will determine if charges should be filed.

Samaria Rice simply couldn't bear to remain living in the neighborhood where her son was killed and initially moved into a homeless shelter before the help of countless others helped her to find a new home.

"It wasn't good for her emotional health to remain in that location where she could see the killing field of her son," said attorney Walter Madison.