After 200 hours of investigation, about $200,000 worth of damage and a flipped news truck, 47 people have been charged in connection with the Nov. 9 riot.
Though the riot was destructive, State College Police Department Chief Tom King said calling the riot the worst State College has ever seen is an exaggeration.
"It depends on what we consider 'worst,' " King said. "In terms of property damage and total cost of the riot to business and borough property, it's not the highest we ever had."
As far as finances are concerned, $180,000 of the total $200,000 in damages was caused when a WTAJ news truck was tipped over.
However, King said the Nov. 9 riot was the most volatile and most mobile riot, as it visited various locations throughout the night.
"The damage was spread over a larger area of downtown, and there were groups of people attempting to cause more injury to police officers than other riots," King said.
From those perspectives, King said it was the worst riot he had ever seen.
Some claimed members of the media had encouraged the destruction, but King said there is no evidence the media incited the riots.
The State College Police Department has charged 45 people and University Police charged two additional students. Eight of those charged waived their preliminary hearings, according to court documents, and the other 37 charged have not yet had their preliminary hearings.
Students who were charged from the riot will face discipline from the university along with legal penalties.
Penn State Office of Student Conduct Senior Director Danny Shaha said the office is in the process of meeting with each student individually.
Shaha said the Office of Student Conduct would not conduct its own investigation of students who were involved in the riots -- they only plan to meet with students who are referred to them by police.
The riot broke out after the Board of Trustees announced the end of former head football coach Joe Paterno and former Penn State President Graham Spanier's careers in their respective positions. Three people charged in connection with the riot are not Penn State students, the State College Police Department said.
University Police said they do not plan to charge anyone else from the riot, but the State College Police Department is still in the process of charging others in connection with the riot.
One problem police officers faced during the riot was getting rioters to vacate the area, so a PSUTXT was sent ordering students to leave.
King said that if it could be proven that a rioter who was charged in connection to the riot received the text message, it could be used as evidence in court.
After the PSUTXT was sent out around 12:30 a.m., police resorted to using pepper spray to get rioters to disperse.
"In large crowd control situations, once we give dispersal orders and we have a riotous crowd, we do authorize the use of pepper spray in the general area to help us with that dispersal," King said.
Tear gas was not used in the Nov. 9 riot, because it is reserved as a last resort when there are no other options. The command staff must authorize the use of tear gas, King said.
