A police officer who triggered outrage when he fatally shot a pitbull puppy has received death threats with thousands calling for him to be 'terminated'.

Footage from his body camera shows Officer Kevin Dupre calling over six-month-old Maximus with kissing noises before shooting the puppy in a garden in Cleburne, Texas.

He has been placed on paid administrative leave until the outcome of the police investigation.

A Texas community is outraged over a video showing an officer calling a pitbull over (not the dog pictured) before shooting the dog to death

A petition to terminate Officer Kevin Dupre has attracted 64,800 signatures.

It says: 'We are ashamed and disgusted by the cowardly acts of this officer. It's up to us to demand that the police not turn their head from this story.

'This killing is totally unjustified and a vibrant young puppy died a horrible death. This puppy was loved and his owner Amanda Henderson was left devastated.'

The officer was responding to a 911 call in August after a woman reported that three pitbulls were menacing a car and keeping people from leaving.

He claimed the pitbull was aggressive and began growling when he got within 20 ft of the dogs.

In the police report he said: 'I made kissing noises in an attempt to calm the dogs.

Owner Amanda Henderson said the footage shows a murder and that every shot makes her cringe

'I raised my duty weapon to the ready position pointed at the growling dog's head. As soon as I lifted my pistol, the dog began coming up the hill, continuing to growl and display its teeth.

'The other dog began backing away. I fired three shots at it. It rolled back into the ditch and died.'

Owner Amanda Henderson said the footage shows a murder and that every shot makes her cringe.

'I see him murdering my puppy, our family...our dog,' she told WFAA.

'Never once did Max stop wagging his tail. Never once do you hear a growl, an aggressive anything,' she said.

The city of Cleburne has said that the incident is under investigation and stated: 'The short video does not tell the whole story.'

A statement released on October 17 said: 'The officer was attempting to secure the other dogs until animal control arrived when one dog became aggressive.'

Cleburne Mayor Scott Cain described the video as 'very disturbing' but said they need to honor the process and complete reviews.

Police say the video is not representative of the situation, and that the officer who fired was trying to get the dogs secure until animal control could respond when one animal became a threat

He also said the death threats are being taken very seriously.

Footage shows one pitbull running up to one cop with its tail wagging upon the officer's arrival.

Another officer, fitted with a body camera, can be seen going behind the house to find two more dogs in a ditch.

Both the pitbull's owners and the 911 caller have since moved out of the neighborhood in Texas

Police say the video is not representative of the situation, and that the officer who fired was trying to get the dogs secure until animal control could respond when one animal became a threat.

Residents are not comfortable with how he handled the situation.

'To call the dog and act like you're going to be sweet to the dog, and you just blatantly shoot it, I don't think that's right at all,' says neighbor Virginia Granger.

Kristin Dodge, who also lives in the area, told CBS DFW the dogs were well behaved and played with her kids.

'These are people's pets. These are people's family. To see something like that happen wasn't really necessary, I think,' she said.

Both the pitbull's owners and the 911 caller have since moved out of the neighborhood.