Police are taking employment actions against a dog handler who used unlawful and excessive force when he unleashed a police dog on two men in West Auckland.

On August 23, an officer and his dog were tracking three men who had fled from a stolen car.

When spotted, the dog was unleashed one of the men, knocking him to ground and continuing to bite him for 45 seconds before the officer pulled it off.

An Independent Police Conduct Authority report has called his failure to remove the dog in a timely manner, excessive.

The dog was used a second time when another of the men was found hiding behind a shed on Godley Road.

The IPCA has ruled this was also an excessive and unlawful use of force, given the man was standing still with both hands in the air and making no attempt to resist arrest.