Denver’s Office of the Independent Monitor announced Friday that a federal court has appointed monitor Nick Mitchell to oversee a Department of Justice consent decree with the City of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

The court-ordered consent decree is intended to fix systemic unconstitutional conditions in the county’s jails. Mitchell will resign as Denver’s independent monitor on Jan. 4.

Mitchell has served in the position since 2012. 

“It has been a great honor to serve Denver as its Independent Monitor. I hope I have left a legacy of fairness and reform, and I look forward to staying involved in the Denver community,” he said in a news release.

Independent monitor to investigate police response to protests

He will continue living in Denver while overseeing the consent decree, the release says. 

The OIM has the role of “policing the police.”

Mitchell’s tenure included overseeing investigations into officer conduct in the Denver Police Department and the Denver Sheriff Department.

He released public guidance about the police department’s use-of-force policy and issuing reports about practices in the sheriff department, such as mishandling of inmate grievances. 

Report critical of Denver police response during George Floyd protests

Last week, Mitchell released a report of findings from an investigation into police handling of protests last spring and summer in response to George Floyd’s death.

The report found issues with the DPD’s record keeping and use of force during the protests, and made 16 reform recommendations, which the DPD has adopted.

In a statement, Denver City Councilwoman Candi CdeBaca called Mitchell the “Community’s Monitor who always stood on the side of justice.”

“Even though he was in the very difficult position of answering both to the Mayor and to the community, his meticulously detailed reports created the roadmap for true transformation of our public safety system.”

CdeBaca’s statement adds that she plans to bring proposals to City Council giving the OIM more power and resources, as well as for putting a community process for choosing the independent monitor into Denver’s charter.

In response to a tweet from a Westword reporter, Mayor Michael Hancock’s chief of staff tweeted, “I will miss working with Nick. He’s a gifted professional & dedicated public servant.”