Two serving officers from the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office have launched legal action against Artists Equity, the production company founded by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, claiming that the Netflix crime drama The Rip falsely linked them to fictitious wrongdoing and caused significant reputational damage.
Miami cops file lawsuit over Matt Damon, Ben Affleck’s The Rip
Jason Smith and Jonathan Santana filed a lawsuit following the release of the Joe Carnahan-directed film in January 2026, claiming that framing the project as based on true events had damaged public perceptions of their behavior in relation to a real law enforcement operation.
According to court filings, the officers say the film’s portrayal of fictional corruption, questionable judgment and unethical behavior closely mirrors aspects of the real-life 2016 Miami-Dade operation they were involved in, creating what they describe as a false and harmful association.
The lawsuit states that the portrayals of Affleck and Damon have caused “substantial harm to their personal and professional reputations” and claims that the film and related promotional materials “implicate misconduct, poor judgment and unethical conduct in connection with an actual law enforcement operation,” according to Entertainment Weekly.
At the center of the controversy is the film’s opening statement, which states that it was “inspired by true events.” The complaint points to a June 2016 case involving Smith and Santana in which more than $21 million was seized in a high-profile operation.
While neither officer is directly named in the film, their attorneys say the connection between the real case and the fictional story is clear enough to cause confusion.
Released worldwide on Netflix on January 16, 2026, The Rip stars Matt Damon as Lt. Dane Dumars and Ben Affleck as Detective Sergeant JD Byrne, two Miami-Dade police officers who investigate corruption in their department after uncovering $20 million in cartel cash.
The film’s central narrative follows police officers as they become entangled in a web of internal corruption and escalating violence. In one of the film’s most controversial scenes, Affleck’s character kills a Drug Enforcement Administration agent, an event that prosecutors say contributes to an overall portrayal of law enforcement misconduct that unfairly reflects their actual operation.
Steven Yeun, Teyana Taylor, Sasha Calle and Kyle Chandler co-star, while Carnahan, known for directing action thrillers like Narc and Copshop, helmed the project.
Neither Damon nor Affleck have publicly responded to the allegations, and Artists Equity has yet to issue a formal statement regarding the claims made in the lawsuit.
