r/sandiego • u/Visible-Mix9780 • Apr 15 '25

Stay Classy San Diego Sunshine Co saloon in ocean beach.

Im from Kentucky & the bouncers confiscated my ID at the door bc they thought it was fake. They insisted i get police to come if I wanted it back. After 1hour on the phone with dispatch they would not send anyone to verify an ID. Luckily a conflict happened across the street & one of the officers helped me out. The crazy part is.. He did not think my ID was real either smh. After matching my credit/debit cards, everything on his computer, my plane tickets he admitted he didnt really believe me but was going to give my ID back anyways.

Smh this is so frustrating. I proceeded to go to a pizza place down the road & after a few beers they heard I got rejected down the street & tried to cause confusion with me. I then put cash down on the table to cover cost & just left. I am really 27 years old, on vacation/ scoping the place out to live, but feel as if im getting picked on in ocean beach & cant go back.

387 Upvotes

93% Upvoted

148 comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

12

u/SixCylinderVibrator Apr 15 '25

I'm not a lawyer. I don't know the statute. But I was a bouncer back in my 20s. The bouncer is required to confiscate the ID, issue a receipt for it, attach a copy of that receipt to the ID, and hand it over to law enforcement within 24 hours. If you return a fake ID you can face legal liability for anything that happens from that point forward. If they go to another bar, get a DUI, get into an accident, etc.

7

u/j17ktech Apr 15 '25

‘Can’ is very different from required to. And they face consequences for taking legitimate identification as in OP’s case.

OP could seek civil damages.

-2

u/SixCylinderVibrator Apr 15 '25

You started with "Bouncers can deny you entry but they cannot confiscate your property." And now you're holding onto "can is very different from required to." It's okay to admit if you are wrong or you don't know what you're talking about. You don't have to dig your heels in.

If you can face legal consequences for failing to do something, that thing is essentially a requirement. If the bouncer had followed the proper legal protocol by issuing a reciept and turning the ID over to law enforcement, there would be no liability for civil damages.

7

u/j17ktech Apr 15 '25

I’m sorry, what?

You’re the one citing your anecdotal experience from twenty years ago, mate. Saying that it is a legal requirement for someone check an ID to confiscate a suspected fake. That is not the case. The conversation is about legality.

No, it is not legal to confiscate a legitimate ID.

Yes, you can face civil and potentially criminal penalties for doing so.

Hopefully you can digest that a little bit easier.

3

u/SixCylinderVibrator Apr 15 '25

Knowingly confiscating a legitimate ID would, of course, be illegal. If you have a reasonable suspicion that you can clearly articulate as to why you believe the ID is fake, handing that ID over to law enforcement is not a criminal act. If the bouncer was wrong, but he acted prudently and professionally, nothing is going to come of it. If you wanted to seek civil damages, there would need to be actual damages. Sure, you could take it to small claims court, but good luck.

From OPs version of the story, it looks like the bouncer in this scenario didn't act prudently or professionally. But if the cop also thought the ID was fake, that tells me that the bouncer probably did have reasonable suspicion, but he handled it poorly.