A FATHER who claims his family was mistreated during the traumatic search for his dead son has accused police of a ‘whitewash’ after he said officers were cleared of any wrongdoing.

Three Thames Valley Police detectives have been cleared after misconduct meetings relating to how they dealt with Ellis Downes’ drowning.

The Harwell 16-year-old went missing in the River Thames in Culham in May 2016, before divers discovered his body two days later.

His bereaved father Darren Downes yesterday accused the police of ‘kicking him and his family in the teeth’, saying the force had decided to take no further action against the three detectives.

The unnamed trio had meetings with bosses this week, after police watchdog the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) found there was a case to answer for misconduct over unprofessional behaviour.

But in a statement released today by Thames Valley Police it said after the three hour meeting examined witness statements, evidence and testimonies it was found the officers did not breach police conduict standards.

Painter and decorator Mr Downes had claimed officers were disrespectful, saying Ellis ‘would wash up eventually’, and kept referring to him as a ‘body’ in front of family.

Referring to the lack of police punishment, the 45-year-old said: “It’s just not good enough.

“It’s a whitewash and will they will just sweep it under the carpet. They are condoning the [officers’] actions.

“We had to give statements, raking over it all again for the IPCC. We hoped they would sort it out and that we could draw a line in the sand after nearly 18 months, but they have instead kicked me and my wife in the teeth - again. They will say sorry and then it will happen to another poor family.”

Detectives refused an independent dive team access to the river to find Ellis, confused over their credentials.

Distraught Mr Downes had to threaten to jump in the river and find Ellis himself before they relented.

The IPCC has not yet publicly published its full report of its investigation into how police handled the case, though it released a brief summary last month.

A leaked copy contains examples of the family’s ordeal, including that Mr Downes and wife Emma were not given a contact number to find out how the search for their son was progressing.

The report states CID officers who drove Mr and Mrs Downes from the police station to their home were said to have used ‘abusive language and behaviour and lack of empathy’, and sped through villages at 70mph.

It said Mrs Downes was also asked to fill out missing person’s paperwork on the bonnet of a police car.

Thames Valley Police assistant chief constable Nicola Ross said: "The Force held a misconduct meeting on Thursday, October 5, to examine complaints made about the actions and behaviour of three officers during the search for the missing teenager Ellis Downes.

"The complaint stated they were rude and made inappropriate comments to members of the public.

"The officers denied breaching police conduct standards during what they all regarded as a deeply tragic incident.

“Following the three hour meeting, to which all interested parties were invited, evidence and testimonies from officers and witnesses were heard and examined.

"It was found that the officers had no case to answer so did not breach police conduct standards and will not face any disciplinary proceedings."

The statement continues to describe changes that have been made following the death of Ellis Downes including an internal review of processes around water rescues and additional training for officers and control room staff.

Chief constable Ross added: "Specialist officers can give advice to those in command and ensure decision-making can be made as early as possible, including better use of equipment and services provided by partners.

“TVP has made a decision to contract an accredited external dive company for water rescue/recovery operations rather than rely on mutual aid from other forces.

"The contractual arrangements are currently being worked through. The National Police Chiefs Council has been supportive of this initiative, which has been used by other forces.

"The force has already reviewed the use of Family Liaison Officers and in particular the timing and the deployment of these trained specialists as we recognise that in this case it should have been done earlier."