The policeman injured at work: 'We must guarantee safety'

The large cobblestone thrown at him by the violent men who devastated the center of Milan yesterday did not stop him. Despite a glaring head wound, Angelo de Simone, first director of the state police, head of the Garibaldi-Venice police station, returned today to guard Piazza Duomo because, he said, "we must guarantee the safety of the city".

The policeman who has become somewhat of a symbol of the self-sacrifice of the police in this two-day siege in Milan has had the management of hundreds of high-voltage events behind him, including Pro Pal marches and fan demonstrations. Fifty-five years old, always on the field even in problematic areas such as those around the Central station and Porta Garibaldi, the heart of the nightlife, where robbers and violent people often find space. He returned to Milan after the Covid pandemic. In 2020 (after having directed the Greco-Turro police station) he led the Anti-Crime Division of the Novara Police Headquarters once promoted to first director of the State Police.

For him, stopping in the face of a head injury was not an option. "We can't afford it - he said in an interview with Tg1 -, it's a situation that must be faced with all available resources because we have to guarantee public order and safety in the city". With a hat covering the wound, he explained that he felt better. "During the stone throwing in Piazza Duomo - he said - I was hit on the forehead by a cobblestone, luckily I managed to partially avoid the blow and I received a wound with four stitches". "Since yesterday afternoon we have been dealing with these groups of organized young people, including minors. They are numerous, animated by destructive ardor and often misrepresented - he explained -.

They find engagement in the group and become more negatively performative depending on the number of people they can gather.”

Even Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni recognized his value by publishing a photo of himself on social media. "With an uncovered face, wounded, without retreating. In front of him, those who hide behind a hood to strike and destroy. The State - underlines Meloni - is not an abstract concept. It is made up of people who, with courage and a sense of duty, remain in their place when others choose violence".