Who is Danny Polo? Petition against masked undercover detective in YNW Melly's murder trial goes viral

Danny Polo, an undercover detective appeared wearing a mask in court on Thursday, June 22, to testify in rapper YNW Melly’s murder trial. The witness works under the Broward Sheriff’s Office and is an expert on gangs.

John Murphy, the Broward Circuit Judge allowed Danny to testify with his face concealed because the detective was met with death threats from people unassociated with Melly’s trial. However, one juror argued that Danny’s masked face has the possibility to deprive the defendant of his right to a just trial.

Apart from that, a petition was recently made on change.org against Danny and the BSO. The petition, started by Jeff Brown, demanded that the Broward Sheriff’s Office stops jailing innocent people and make up lies on them to ruin their careers. It further claimed that the officers were putting murder charges on innocent people.

At the end of the petition, the creator mentioned Danny Polo and wrote in all caps that he was the reason behind all the false accusations.

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The petition mentioning Danny Polo asks for help to stop unfair cops

In the petition, Jeff Brown claimed that the BSO officers are putting Rico charges on innocent people and getting away with false accusations. He further stated that their community needs the cops to start abiding by the laws and stop unlawfully and unjustly arresting people.

Jeff wrote that a lot of innocent people have been put behind bars on charges of crimes that they never committed. But the cops put lies in the arrest paperwork. He accused the police officers of compelling these innocent people to spend their hard-earned money on bonds and lawyers.

People who signed the petition, stated their reason. (Image via change.org)

The petition also claimed a change in the Deerfield Beach area where Jeff Brown said that undercover detectives take pictures of people doing regular household chores.

But the cops then falsely accuse them of doing drugs. The BSO officers have been accused of raiding innocent people's houses. Jeff wrote that 24 people have been arrested by these officers on Rico charges. Since nobody was stepping up, the petition was created.

People who signed the petition, stated their reason. (Image via change.org)

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Juror had an issue with Danny Polo testifying in a mask

During his testimony, Danny associated YNW Melly with the membership in a group called G-Shine, which is a branch of the Bloods.

"There's hundreds of picturess of him with other Bloods," Danny said.

After Danny Polo’s initial appearance in court wearing a mask, the Broward County Judge received two jury notes. The notes were shared with the lawyers for both the defense and the state. The first note directly referred to the facial obscuring technique sanctioned by the court, while a more emotional and implicit objection was made in the second note.

Defense attorney David A. Howard read the note out loud in court where the question was asked as to why Danny gets to see everyone but nobody gets to see him. The second note read:

“I need a moment. I can’t listen properly. When I was a child, I seen someone get robbed and I am having an anxiety attack.”

Lead prosecutor Kristine Bradley argued during a recess that it was unclear whether the masked appearance of the witness had upset the juror, or Danny Polo’s testimony about gang violence. David Howard said that the juror’s first note had clarity.

Danny’s testifying in a mask became a point of debate and attorneys had to decide whether to ask him to remove his mask or to proceed with the trial after the juror recovers from her anxiety attack.

YNW Melly’s team had previously objected to Danny Polo being permitted to testify while his face was covered in black. However, the objection was overruled by the court. In the past, the undercover detective had been allowed to deliver his testimony wearing a mask by other courts in the Atlanta region.