Legal advice in case of arrest for drunk driving

Questioner

I was arrested for public drunkenness last Friday. My friend and I were walking home from the pub and stopped briefly near the police station. Nothing wrong, no noise and definitely not drunk. Admittedly, we had had a few beers. It was fun and we were in a good mood. I was initially stopped on suspicion of urinating in public. My ID was requested and I immediately handed it over. There was no question of urinating in public and I did not receive a fine for this. After asking the same question 4 times whether I was urinating, I responded somewhat wittily. After all, I had already answered his question several times. Apparently the officer on duty did not entirely agree with my answer and attitude and found it necessary to push me over. In my opinion, no wrong words or insults preceded this. None of my words were offensive. In any case, not something you cannot expect from the nightlife public. With his repeated questions and attitude, you can expect a witty answer from a decent public. It was obvious that the officer on duty was not having a good day. His colleague was busy with a friend in the meantime. He asked if we were going home and my friend answered in the affirmative. During this conversation I was pushed with the message that we had to go home. I fell to the ground. A combination of instability and the rather hard push. Once on the ground I asked if he would help me up again, which was polite. I admit, it was a bit provocative. But again, this was triggered by his manner. Here, after asking twice, no response was given. In fact, I was arrested while lying on the ground for public drunkenness. According to vraaghetdepolitie.nl, public drunkenness is someone who has been drinking and behaves antisocially or annoyingly on the street is guilty of public drunkenness. I wasn't annoying. We were walking home calmly, actually. I was a bit irritated by his attitude and questions. Something you can expect during your night shift on the weekend, in my opinion. Now I would like to know what the motivation was for the arrest. Information that they have noted. Can I request this information? If so, how? I want to have as much information as possible at my disposal for when I am going to contest the violation. In addition, I would like to know based on this brief description of the situation whether I have any chance at all if I were to contest it. What bothers me most is that I was on my way home and nothing was wrong. The officers created an unpleasant situation. I may not have reacted in the best way, but this is to be expected from a 'night crowd' that has just come from the pub and is addressed in a confrontational manner. In fact, in a physical manner. I had hoped that there was a dashcam on the car that had recorded everything, but this was not the case. Of course I can provide little proof other than a situation sketch and our (a friend and I) view of the story. Thank you in advance!

Lawyer

My advice: hire a lawyer. He or she can request the documents and discuss counter-investigation with you, for example in the form of questioning witnesses. In addition to other possibilities, a so-called penalty order can follow for the case. I always advise not to accept this but to file an objection (WITHIN 14 DAYS). Statistics show that the Public Prosecution Service that issues a penalty order usually imposes a heavier sentence than the judge, before whom you end up if you file an objection. And with the judge, you usually have an assessment by an independent party, to whom you can also present your arguments. Should the case end in a dismissal, acquittal or dismissal of all prosecution (and given the story that could well be the case) then it is also possible to have certain personal data removed from the police registers. A request must be made for this. Of course, this clearly serves an interest: privacy.

Questioner

Is hiring a lawyer necessary? I can't request data myself using a WOB or something similar? Hiring a lawyer will cost me a lot of money. In addition, I have been told that a conversation with the chief of police might also help. That the note I receive might be removed in this way.

Lawyer

Good advice is expensive. A conversation with the chief of police seems hopeless to me. You can of course request access yourself, to the police, the Public Prosecution Service and possibly the court.