Denver’s Citizen Oversight Board chose local defense attorney Lisabeth Castle to head the Office of the Independent Monitor.

The office serves as the watchdog body for Denver’s law enforcement agencies. It monitors investigations of Denver’s safety officers, makes recommendations about discipline and policy to the city’s manager of safety and monitors investigations of citizen complaints about safety officer misconduct.

“I pledge to work tirelessly for justice, transparency, and accountability in policing and look forward to collaborating with law enforcement and the community to further strengthen oversight in Denver,” Castle said in a news release.

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A search committee named Castle and Mary Opler as finalists to replace former monitor head Nick Mitchell.

Castle spent 12 years as a public defender in Colorado and opened a private defense practice in 2000.

During a public forum last week Castle emphasized her connections to Denver. The Citizen Oversight Board mentioned her “experience, tenacity and ability to build strong relationships” as reasons for choosing her.

“The Independent Monitor position requires technical skills in investigations and oversight, the ability to effectively manage a city agency, and the savvy to navigate complex environments while building trust at the same time,” according to the board’s statement.

Opler currently does oversight in Sacramento’s Office of Public Safety Accountability, and spent time as a prosecutor in King County, Washington.

Denver’s Citizen Oversight Board is broadly tasked with overseeing the effectiveness of the monitor’s office and the city’s Department of Safety. Last year voters approved handing authority to appoint the independent monitor to the board, which previously lay with the mayor.

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The Office of the Independent Monitor has not had a permanent head since Mitchell stepped down two years ago to oversee a consent decree in Los Angeles County’s jail system. Gregg Crittenden has served as interim monitor in the meantime. Castle will be the third person to hold the position since the office’s creation in 2004.

Mitchell was part of the screening committee that ultimately chose Castle and Opler. The Citizen Oversight Board previously announced three different finalists earlier this year, but chose not to hire any of them.