New London — City firefighter Alfred Mayo successfully has defended himself against a civil lawsuit stemming from a 2013 bar fight that led to his arrest.

Marlon Tejada of Groton had filed the suit against Mayo in New London Superior Court claiming Mayo had “sucker punched” him at the Montville Polish Club during a June 14, 2013, confrontation.

Tejada, who claims he lost a tooth and suffered lacerations, sought more than $15,000 in damages.

Mayo claimed an argument over a card game had escalated and Tejada had assaulted him outside the social club. He said he acted in self-defense, hitting Tejada only after he was hit multiple times.

Mayo represented himself during a June 28 trial at New London Superior Court.

Judge Joseph Q. Koletsky, who tried the case, wrote in a June 29 decision that Mayo “testified in a clear and forthright manner, which the court finds to be credible.”

The judge said Tejada testified in an “inconsistent and contradictory manner.”

Mayo said Tuesday that he had decided to represent himself in the case because he felt the case against him was without merit.

“I truly felt I could articulate my case better than any attorney could do for me,” Mayo said. “I’m very pleased with the judge’s decision. He made the right decision.”

The initial charges of third-degree assault against Mayo associated with the incident were downgraded as a part of a plea deal with state prosecutors.

Mayo pleaded no contest to a breach of peace charge. He received a suspended prison sentence with no probation, and agreed to pay Tejada $3,000 for unreimbursed medical expenses.

At the time of his sentencing, a state prosecutor noted the event was “definitely mutual combat,” with disagreement as to who started the fight.

In addition to his arrest, Mayo served a 45-day suspension from the fire department.

Tejada’s attorney, Eric J. Garofano, filed a motion to reargue the civial case in part on technical grounds that Mayo had not properly pleaded his self-defense claims as a “special defense.”

Garafano also claims the “judgment is based on conclusions that are physically impossible,” disputing Mayo’s claims that Tejada was the aggressor.

Garafano did not return calls seeking comment on Tuesday.

Mayo has claimed the argument that led to the fight was sparked by Tejada’s comments aimed at Mayo’s race — he is African-American — and how his race related to him securing his job in New London.

Mayo was in the news at the time during his public fight to regain his position in New London after his firing in 2011, just days before his graduation from the state fire academy.

The city rehired him in 2012, when a report on the fire academy appeared to back Mayo’s claims of unfair treatment.

At the time, Mayo was the first black firefighter hired by the city since 1978.

Mayo had another brush with law enforcement in 2014, when the Norwich Police Department levied criminal charges against him for cutting down a row of hedges straddling the border with his neighbor’s property.

State prosecutors opted not to prosecute that case.

g.smith@theday.com