A standoff brewing in the Yakima County Coroner's Office could put the public in a bind soon.

Coroner Jim Curtice, on leave since admitting to Yakima police two months ago that he'd been stealing and using drugs found on dead bodies, is at the center of the impasse. He's refusing to do the honorable thing and resign from the elected office that pays him more than $130,000 a year.

While the Ellensburg city attorney -- who's taken up the case to avoid conflicts of interest -- considers whether to charge Curtice with lying to police, tampering with evidence and official misconduct, Curtice is absent. Presumably undergoing treatment for substance abuse or PTSD at some out-of-area clinic, he's been gone long past the four to six weeks county commissioners thought he was taking.

That leaves Chief Deputy Coroner Marshall Slight and retired medical examiner Jeffrey Reynolds to pick up the slack -- and both promise they'll walk if Curtice comes back to work.

Understandably, they say Curtice has betrayed their trust.

"I don't know of any other people who would want to work there," Slight told the YH-R's Donald W. Meyers.

Curtice, however, is an elected public official -- so nobody can make him leave. The only way to get rid of him is if he quits, voters recall him or he loses an election. His term is up in 2026.

All three county commissioners, the sheriff and the auditor have formally urged Curtice to resign, but they have no official say over a fellow officeholder.

Which leaves us all stuck.

The Coroner's Office is even more shorthanded than usual, and the thankless work that office does is compromised. Slight and Reynolds can't do everything by themselves forever, and if Curtice decides to return to work, they'll quit.

And after this drug-stealing incident, along with his arrest last year following a drunken run-in with county sheriff's deputies, Curtice's credibility is shot.

"Imagine the current coroner appearing in court," Reynolds said. "Any defense attorney would eat him alive."

Considering Curtice's refusal to leave or even acknowledge the public's interests in all this, and given the potential for a complete breakdown in the Coroner's Office, it seems a recall is Yakima County's only option.

Since Curtice is a Republican, we'd urge his party's local office to step up and take the lead. But anyone can seek a recall, and the result is what matters: giving the coroner's office the leadership it needs.

An ordeal like this is a painful reminder that character is crucial for public servants.