A police officer caught on camera shooting and killing a fenced-in dog on its own property after it tangled with his own K-9 through a gate … and the footage is horrible and outrageous, because there’s just no excuse.

This heinous incident was captured on a home security cam somewhere in Detroit, and it shows a medium-sized white pooch on his property behind a fence, following a cop and his K-9 walking on the sidewalk … until they reach the end, and the two dogs get into it.

From the looks of the clip, it appears the cop did not have control of his dog … and its snout gets latched onto by the white one through the rails. Rather than try to pull his dog away — or literally anything else at all — the officer is seen pulling out a weapon of some sort and discharging it right in the white dog’s face.

People online are claiming he shot it with his gun, and that the dog died. Before that, however, you can see it twitching violently on the ground as other officers surround the scene. The video cuts shortly after that.

We’re working on getting more details on this incident, but the mere fact is this … if this officer did in fact shoot and kill this white dog, he needs to be prosecuted, plain and simple. At bare minimum, the guy is in clear violation of the leash law … which, in part, says it is unlawful for an owner to let their dogs stray unless held properly on a leash.

The cop here didn’t adhere to either requirement, but beyond just that … it looks to be a clear case of animal cruelty. Shooting the dog point blank was NOT the only option here, and the fact he let it get to this point is negligent at minimum … and very likely criminal.

The Detroit Police Department has not responded to this incident yet, but it’s already catching national attention — ex-Democratic presidential candidate Julian Castro is demanding answers and accountability … as are many others.