Vancouver police are apologizing after a canine officer attacked an innocent senior during a foot chase late Tuesday afternoon.

Const. Jason Doucette said the 75-year-old bystander just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time as officers were pursuing a break-in suspect near Granville Street and Southwest Marine Drive.

A police dog bit the senior in the leg, causing an injury that sent him to hospital.

"Our goal here is to arrest the bad guys and ensure public safety, and in this situation something didn't go as planned," Doucette said Wednesday. "Our dog bit someone that wasn't the intended target."

The incident started around 5:30 p.m., when police confronted three break-in suspects at a nearby parking lot. Two of the men were arrested quietly, but a third bolted.

Police said the suspect tried to carjack two vehicles, including a full taxi, before a canine unit was able to arrest him at a gas station.

A separate canine unit was responsible for the attack on the bystander, who is a Vancouver resident.

"We feel very badly about that. I can tell you the dog handler himself was affected by this," Doucette said. "This is very rare and we're sorry that it happened, and we're doing our best to ensure it doesn't happen again."

Police have not revealed the exact extent of the senior's injuries, but said he had already been released from hospital by Wednesday morning.

The incident isn't the first time an innocent bystander has been attacked by a police dog in Metro Vancouver. Maple Ridge resident Bill Evanow was left scarred for life after he was mistakenly bitten during a police chase back in 2011 – an incident that spurred calls for changes to police dog training.

The suspect who was arrested by a canine officer Tuesday was also taken to hospital for treatment.

All three suspects, who were wanted in a series of break-ins committed earlier that day, have since been charged.

Surrey resident Graham Scott Beattie, 40, is charged with two counts of breaking into a dwelling and one count of attempted theft of an auto over $5,000.

Two counts of breaking into a dwelling have also been approved against Richmond resident Harold Jason Gillis, 42, and Vancouver resident Joseph Leon Kidd, 34, is facing one count.

With files from CTV Vancouver's Shannon Paterson