A Store Employee Kept My Real Driver’s License Because He Thought It Was Fake, And The Manager Says I Can Only Get It Back If Police Collect It

location: Colorado

I’m 24 and this happened yesterday afternoon at a small liquor store near my apartment. The cashier scanned my Colorado driver’s license, looked at it for maybe ten seconds, then said the photo “didn’t look right.” I laughed at first because I thought he was joking. He wasn’t.

He took the license behind the counter and told me he was keeping it because stores are allowed to confiscate fake IDs. I told him it is real and asked him to scan it again or compare the information with another card that has my name on it. He refused. I didn’t try to reach over the counter or anything, I just asked for it back several times.

The manager came out and basically repeated the same thing. His position was that once an employee suspects an ID is fake, they won’t hand it back directly. He said police could come verify it and collect it.

I called the non-emergency police number from outside. The person I spoke with said an officer might be able to respond, but there was no estimate and I had to leave for an appointment. I went back inside,gave the manager my phone number, and asked him not to destroy or alter the license.

As of this morning, they still have it. I have a passport at home, so I’m not completely without identification, but I really dont want my driver’s license sitting behind a store counter for days.

My questions are pretty narrow: can a private store in Colorado legally keep a genuine driver’s license after I demand it back? If not, what is the sensible legal route to recover it without turning this into some huge confrontation?