Police officer shoots a family's dog in front of two screaming little children: Video

Disturbing surveillance video captured the moment an Iowa police officer shot and killed a family's dog in front of two traumatized young children – just weeks after the same officer allegedly mowed down another dog nearby.

Officer Ethan Bock of the Davenport Police Department opened fire on the beloved 2-year-old pet named Myst last Wednesday after responding to another 911 call reporting four other aggressive dogs roaming the streets, police said.

In footage of the fatal encounter, released by the family afterward, the police officer was seen stopping next to the boys as they rode their bicycles up and down an alley with the dog wagging its tail in tow.

Just moments after telling the children to bring the dog into the house and get him a leash, the officer could be seen getting out of his patrol car and walking toward the house.

Dog owner Don Hesseltine said the boys were about to comply with the officer's demands – but then chaos broke out when a barking Myst ran toward the officer in the front yard.

“The dog runs at him and he decides his best option is to pull out his gun and murder our dog in front of my child, his cousin, and his mother while they are all standing there and easily could have been shot as well,” an outraged Hesseltine wrote on X alongside the surveillance footage.

The two boys could be heard screaming and sobbing after the shots were fired as they watched their injured dog run back to the house.

As the harrowing video shows, the screaming dog writhed in pain for several seconds before going limp.

Myst eventually died just steps from the porch, Hesseltine said.

After the footage appeared on social media, the saga quickly sparked a storm of outrage, with angry residents demanding the officer's dismissal.

A petition circulating online on Change.org demanding “accountability” has already collected more than 4,000 signatures.

Police said the incident was still under investigation but later defended the officer's actions, saying he only opened fire when the dog “became aggressive.”

“Davenport Police responded to a report of four dogs running loose that appeared aggressive and responded to the 800 block of North Pine Street. The caller stated that the dogs were attempting to climb over a fence to get to their dog,” the police department said in a statement.

“While the officer was responding to the call in the alley of 2100 Telegraph Road, a dog ran out of a yard in the officer's direction. On public video, the officer can be seen slowly backing up as the dog advances. The dog's behavior became aggressive, which resulted in the officer discharging his firearm at the dog.”

The incident came just weeks after the same officer was accused of hitting another family's dog with his patrol car in a nearby alley on the evening of July 13, the Quad-City Times reported.

In the first case, C'edward Spears testified that he was taking out the trash with his dog around 10 p.m. when he encountered the officer.

Spears claims he warned the officer that his dog had been let loose nearby shortly before the animal attacked.

“I say, 'Stop – the dog.' So he stops. He notices me. Then he accelerates and takes off,” Spears told the outlet.

Bock's bodycam footage, which is available to the outlet, shows the officer getting out of his vehicle and approaching the lifeless dog.

“Damn it,” he was heard saying before radioing for help.

“That's why you gotta keep your dog on a leash, brother,” he added as a distraught Spears approached.

The Post reached out to Davenport police about both incidents but did not receive an immediate response.