A Denver police sergeant faces a second assault charge in connection to an August incident where he beat a teen with a metal baton — breaking his leg and nose — while attempting an arrest.

Sgt. Joseph Rodarte struck the teen six times as the boy rolled on the pavement yelling incoherently, video footage from the incident played at a hearing on Thursday showed. The unarmed teen — who later told investigators he was high on LSD — did not strike at officers but tried to run away from the group of officers attempting to arrest him in a southwest Denver parking lot.

“He was trying to flee,” Deputy District Attorney Danny Paulson said.

A Denver County judge decided at the Thursday hearing that prosecutors had enough evidence for the case to continue to trial in district court. The footage from surveillance and body-worn cameras had never been viewed publicly before the hearing.

Prosecutors filed a charge in October of second-degree assault in connection to the incident and added a second count of the same charge last week, Assistant District Attorney Ryan Brackley said. Police arrested Rodarte in connection to the crime but he remained free on bond Thursday.

The Denver District Attorney’s Office declined a Denver Post records request for the videos shown in court because the footage is evidence in an ongoing criminal case, spokeswoman Carolyn Tyler said.

Police first starting looking for a person matching the teen’s description after receiving 911 calls about a man yelling obscenities in Ruby Hill Park. A short time later, Rodarte and Officer James Martinez located the teen — whose name is being withheld because he is a minor — on a nearby street.

Rodarte stopped the teen to talk to him, but while the teen was standing in front of Rodarte, Martinez kicked the teen in the back.

The teen then ran through the parking lot of a nearby car shop, yelling incoherently, until Martinez tripped him and he fell.

“On your belly! On your belly!” Rodarte yelled.

The teen did not lie on his belly but remained on the ground as Rodarte raised his metal baton and struck the teen four times as the teen rolled around on the pavement, the video showed. The first blow struck the teen in the face, breaking his nose. The others struck his back and side.

The teen then tried to stand up as officers attempted to handcuff him. Rodarte next struck the teen twice in the legs, breaking both bones in the teen’s right calf. The teen fell to the ground screaming.

The teen later told police he didn’t remember all of the incidents but remembers seeing the police officers and believing they were demons.

Denver Police Sgt. Randy Steinke, who handles use-of-force investigations for the department’s internal affairs bureau, said in court Thursday that policy states a baton should not be used to inflict serious injury unless the suspect is fighting police. It should not be used to strike a person in the head or neck unless the officer reasonably fears for his or her life, he said.

Steinke said it was not appropriate to use the baton as Rodarte did, per department policy.

Two other officers discharged their stun guns during the incident. The department will investigate their use of the Tasers at a later date, Steinke said.

Breese, the judge, said he reviewed the department’s use of force policy before making his decision. He said it was a “very serious matter” because of the injuries sustained by the teenager as well as the impact a conviction would have on Rodarte’s career.

“It’s an unusual circumstance to have a police officer charged with excessive force,” he said.

Breese said that he did not find the baton use to be reasonable in the situation and moved the case forward.

Rodarte did not speak during the hearing. He is scheduled to appear for arraignment in Denver District Court on April 22. He remains suspended from work without pay, Denver police spokesman Doug Schepman said.

At least 20 use-of-force complaints have been filed against Rodarte during his 20-year career at the department. He rarely faced discipline in connection to those complaints.