The family of a church caretaker with mental health problems who died after being restrained at a police station has expressed anger and distress that disciplinary proceedings against four officers have been discontinued.

Thomas Orchard, 32, died after a heavy webbing belt was placed across his face while he was being restrained in Exeter following a public order incident in 2012.

This year the office of Devon and Cornwall police admitted breaches under the Health and Safety at Work Act related to Orchard’s death and was fined £234,500.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) ordered the force to bring disciplinary hearings for gross misconduct against four police officers – a sergeant and three constables – who were involved in the restraint of Orchard at Heavitree Road police station.

But on Friday it emerged that the proceedings had been discontinued after a private preliminary hearing during which the officers argued there had been an abuse of process.

The decision is a huge blow for the Orchard family, who are deeply hurt that they have never received an apology from the force. It means that no individual officers have been held to blame over Orchard’s death – only the “office” of the chief constable.

In a statement, the family said: “Strangely, we are not surprised, and yet deeply shocked. We are not surprised because, in our assessment, we have witnessed it again and again over the past seven years. We are not surprised because, to be honest, we never really had any faith in this tribunal, believing it to be an investigation held – only reluctantly after direction from the IOPC – by the police, for the police.

“However, we also remain deeply shocked. As a family we used to believe in the system; we believed that if something bad happened, justice would be served. But no one and no process that we have witnessed to date has fully explored – openly, honestly and constructively – the catastrophic failings surrounding Thomas’s death. We feel let down and have been failed beyond belief.

“The saddest thing for us is that Thomas’s death was in vain; worse than that, it seems to have reinforced the notion that the police can behave in ways that we see to have been grossly irresponsible, negligent and reckless … and get away with it.”

The disciplinary panel, which was chaired by a senior officer from another force, concluded the officers could not have a fair hearing because of issues including the lapse in time since Orchard’s death and concern over the disclosure process. Orchard’s family was able to attend the hearing but was refused access to documentation in the case, running to more than 12,000 pages.

Orchard was a fit and physically healthy man living independently in supported accommodation at the time of his death. He had a history of mental illness and a diagnosis of schizophrenia. On 3 October 2012 he was arrested and detained by officers in Exeter.

He was transported by police van to Heavitree Road police station. Upon arrival a US-made emergency response belt (ERB), constructed from a tough webbing fabric, was put around his face as a spit or bite hood. The ERB remained held around his face as he was carried face down to a cell, where he was left lying on the floor. By the time officers re-entered the cell, Thomas was in cardiac arrest. He was transferred to hospital and pronounced dead a week later.

In 2017 a police sergeant and two detention officers were cleared by a jury of manslaughter. They argued the force they used was lawful and proportiona,l but his family has always rejected the depiction of Orchard as an angry and violent man during his arrest, insisting he was frightened and fighting for his life.

After the acquittal, the IOPC argued four officers had cases to answer for gross misconduct. The force disagreed. But the IOPC directed it to hold misconduct hearings.

Deborah Coles, the director of the charity INQUEST, which has supported the family, said: “That this disciplinary hearing has been stopped before it even started is simply deplorable.”

Helen Stone of the the law firm Hickman & Rose, who represents the family, said: “It is a matter of general public concern that no police officers will face disciplinary hearings to account for their actions towards Thomas, after a panel decided today that they could not have a fair hearing.”

The chief constable of Devon and Cornwall police, Shaun Sawyer, said: “I accept the decision made by the independent panel. Matters relating to the case are not over yet and there are still ongoing IOPC-directed misconduct proceedings against two police [civilian] staff.

“This was an IOPC-directed hearing against the representations of the force. I understand the significant impact of this long-running matter on the officers, staff and their families, and of course the family of Thomas Orchard.

“I am unable to comment further at this stage due to ongoing misconduct proceedings against two police staff members.”

Andrew Berry, chair of Devon and Cornwall Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers, said: “These four police officers turned up to work that day, as they did every day, to do their job, using the equipment that was provided by their employer, acting in accordance with the training they had been given. Two criminal trials and a gross misconduct process have failed to evidence any wrongdoing on their part.”

He called for the IOPC to carry out an internal investigation in to how long proceedings had dragged on for. “Lessons need to be learned for the sake of all,” Berry added.

The IOPC regional director Sarah Green said: “We will carefully consider the panel’s decision. We are extremely mindful of the impact this case has had on both the Orchard family and the officers involved.” Green said it was a priority for the IOPC to improve the speed of investigations.