Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk, a Republican who looked over some alleged public corruption cases because Maricopa County Attorney Andrew Thomas had a conflict of interest, takes on Thomas and Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio today in the Arizona Republic:

I was happy to remove myself from the cases and from contact with Sheriff Joe Arpaio.

My discomfort grew daily and my role in restraining potential abuses of power increasingly more difficult. It was a relief to package up the files and return them to Maricopa County.

Maricopa County is not my jurisdiction, but I can no longer sit by quietly and watch from a distance the abuses of power by Sheriff Arpaio and County Attorney Andrew Thomas.

I am conservative and passionately believe in limited government, not the totalitarianism that is spreading before my eyes.

The actions of Arpaio and Thomas are a disservice to the hundreds of dedicated men and women who work in their offices, and a threat to the entire criminal-justice system.