Baltimore mayor, Catherine Pugh under fire over book sales, takes leave for health

Baltimore's embattled mayor began an indefinite hiatus on Monday, citing health reasons for her leave on the same day the state's governor called for a probe into sales of her self-published books to a health provider.

Mayor Catherine Pugh has been battling pneumonia for a few weeks and her physicians have advised her to focus on recuperating, her office said in a statement.

"At this time, with the mayor's health deteriorating, she feels as though she is unable to fulfill her obligations as mayor of Baltimore City," the statement from Pugh's office said. "To that end, Mayor Pugh will be taking an indefinite leave of absence to recuperate from this serious illness."

Pugh, who was elected mayor in 2016, has been under fire since the Baltimore Sun reported last month the University of Maryland Medical System paid her $500,000 between 2012 and 2018 to buy copies of her self-published children's book series, "Healthy Holly."

The series promotes healthy choices for children, such as exercise and eating vegetables.

Pugh, a Democrat, was serving on the board of the medical system when she received payments for the books. She was among nine members of the board with some form of business arrangement with the medical system, the newspaper reported.

Read more: Baltimore mayor, under fire over book sales, takes leave for health.

Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh statement on disturbing video of police officer beating man

Baltimore Mayor, Catherine Pugh released the following statement following the disturbing video of a police officer beating an unarmed black man this past weekend because the man refused to show his I.D.

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My statement on the video of the Baltimore Police Officer pic.twitter.com/Wp5GJk80zt

— Mayor Catherine Pugh (@MayorPugh50) August 11, 2018

Watch the sickening video below:

Baltimore Mayor: City Will ‘Look To’ Remove Confederate Monuments

New Orleans recently took down its Confederate monuments. Baltimore Mayor Catherine Pugh says she is considering doing the same thing in the city.

“The city does want to remove these,” Pugh told The Baltimore Sun. “We will take a closer look at how we go about following in the footsteps of New Orleans.”

Pugh said she’s been focused in her first months in office on implementing police reforms under the consent decree negotiated with the Department of Justice and finding more funds for the school system. She said she’s now turning her attention to other issues, such as the monuments.

“You name it, we’ve tackled it,” she said. “This is another one of those things that we will tackle as well.

“New Orleans has taken on this issue. It costs about $200,000 a statute to tear them down. … Maybe we can auction them?”

Read more: Pugh to explore removing Confederate monuments in Baltimore.