In a series of animated Internet videos, a filmmaker known only as Mrfuddlesticks pokes fun at the city of Renton and its Police Department.

But the targets of the cartoons aren't laughing.

Renton police have obtained a search warrant that orders Google to turn over the real name of Mrfuddlesticks, the creator of the nine videos that were posted on YouTube.

The warrant, signed July 28 by King County Superior Court Judge James Cayce, accuses the filmmaker of cyberstalking by directing the videos at the city and its personnel.

Officer Ryan Rutledge wrote in the warrant that the case is being pursued as cyberstalking because much of what was broadcast was intended to "display lewd content an/or lewd acts, indecent language that is meant to embarrass and emotionally torment the victim."

The main character of the videos is a mustachioed police officer in mirrored sunglasses who talks about Police Department issues in a robotic voice. Some current department members and city employees are referenced in the videos, according to the warrant.

The videos focus on the new South King County misdemeanant jail, called the SCORE facility, internal investigations, department morale and alleged sex acts involving Police Department employees, the warrant said.

One of the videos, titled "SCORE Parody Part Deux," appears to criticize SCORE Director Penny Bartley's appointment to the jail leadership position after working in civilian positions at the Police Department. Bartley declined to comment Thursday about the videos.

The other videos have titles such as "Tips to Stay Out of a Video," "Promotion 3," "Getting Promoted 2," and "Parody Lawyer, Part 3." Despite the signed warrant, at least one legal expert believes the city could face First Amendment issues if it pursues the case.

John Strait, a Seattle University law professor and an expert on legal ethics, said that police officers are in a position that makes them targets of public criticism.

Strait added that pushing the case as cyberstalking is a stretch. "It would be difficult to fit it into the cyberstalking statute," he said. "It absolutely does not apply," he said.

During a news conference on Thursday, Police Chief Kevin Milosevich defended the efforts to prosecute the individual responsible for the videos. He said the city attorney's office supports the department's contention that the content of the videos meets the definition of cyberstalking.

Milosevich said the videos may have been created by someone who has access to internal-affairs information, according to KING-TV.

He said the individual could be a police officer or someone closely associated with the department.

The videos were uploaded to YouTube between April 12 and 18, but were removed from the site later that month, the warrant said.

Milosevich first learned of the videos in April, according to the warrant.

The videos were created on the moviemaking website xtranormal.com, the warrant says.

The videos were posted on YouTube under the user name Mrfuddlesticks. Other user name were whothehellispenny and tellinthetruth.

Jennifer Sullivan: 206-464-8294 or jensullivan@seattletimes.com