By JARRAD HEDES

jmhedes@tnonline.comA federal judge recently cleared a Jim Thorpe Police detective of any wrongdoing in a 2011 disorderly conduct arrest.U.S. Middle District Court Judge James Munley said Detective Lee Marzen did not abuse his power while he apprehended Christopher Mazzella of Lehighton after an incident at Jim Thorpe Area High School's graduation on June 10, 2011.Mazzella was arrested after sounding an air horn when his brother, Justin, was called to receive his diploma.After a struggle, Mazzella was placed under arrest and charged with persistent disorderly conduct.He would later be acquitted at trial, but filed a federal lawsuit against Marzen."I was very hopeful that this would be the outcome when the judge had a chance to look through all of the information," Marzen said."I was trying to make an arrest and while the jury didn't agree with the criminal charges, I am happy and excited that the judge in this lawsuit felt I acted appropriately."Throughout his 26-page decision, Munley cited testimony of Mazzella's resistance to being handcuffed."The court's review of the video evidence particularly of video created by Mazzella's brother establishes that Mazzella did, both physically and verbally, resist Marzen's efforts to move him outside the school building and affect the arrest," Munley said."The court recognizes officer Marzen's restrained and professional demeanor throughout the incident, especially in the face (quite literally) of Mazzella's uncooperative and, at times, antagonistic behavior. Officer Marzen arrested Mazzella quickly and without allowing events to escalate. Any reasonable officer under similar circumstances would be justifiably satisfied with such an outcome, and thus no reasonable jury could find that defendant used excessive force."According to court documents, Mazzella used an air horn for eight to nine seconds when his brother, Justin, was called to receive his diploma."Before the horn blast, the graduates' names were announced at a steady pace; the announcements halted when the air-horn sounded," the court documents state.Marzen told Mazzella he had to leave the ceremony and, as both men exited the gymnasium, Marzen pushed Mazzella against a wall.The detective then applied a "half-nelson" hold to Mazzella's arm and guided him toward the building exit.Before they reached the exit, Marzen took Mazzella to the ground, landing on top of him. A few seconds later, Marzen, with the assistance of an off-duty police officer, lifted Mazzella to his feet and continued toward the exit.The entire incident leading to Mazzella's arrest lasted no more than five minutes, according to court documents.Mazzella was charged with persistent disorderly conduct and claimed the day after his arrest, he was diagnosed with a sprained neck, but the hospital did not admit him.After trial, Mazzella was acquitted of all charges.Mazzella filed a lawsuit against Marzen in June 2013 alleging that the detective violated his Fourth Amendment rights; and claims for assault and battery, false arrest and illegal imprisonment, and harassment and intentional destruction of property.Wouldn't changea thingMarzen said Monday he wouldn't change a thing about the way he handled the event."It was a hands on encounter and it didn't involve any kind of weapons," he said. "It was a disorderly person that I had to remove from the situation. I was confident I didn't do anything wrong. I won't second guess myself. I did what I needed to do to eliminate the noise problem."