The University of Northern Iowa’s Homecoming festivities led to rioting Saturday, resulting in the arrest of nearly two dozen people, an unconscious policeman and a student victim of a hit and run.

The campus bars in Cedar Falls closed early, only to be followed by a period of violence and destruction on “The Hill,” a student term for the bars.

Sheriff’s officials said 22 people were charged with failure to disperse, a simple misdemeanor. In addition, two were charged with interference with an officer. Almost all of those arrested are believed to be students, according to the sheriff’s office.

During the melee, officers from nearby Waterloo were called to the scene and one of the officers was knocked to the ground when a brick hit him near the ear just below the helmet. The officer was treated at a local hospital and sent home to recuperate.

A UNI student on the scene, Angie Linn, said people were fighting and destroying property for nearly two hours late Saturday night.

Sarah Hawe, a UNI senior, said The Hill was packed and people were pulling out street signs and tearing out parking meters. She said others were throwing whatever they could find.

Hawe said bricks and other objects were thrown at the area near the Kum and Go convenience store.

“It’s a combination of alcohol and having fun. People get carried away and I think it’s just a couple of people who were doing the massive [destruction],” Hawe said.

Officers used tear gas and pepper spray to restrain the students.

“There was a big mass of people rushing down the hill, and the cops were spraying us,” Linn said.

A student was struck by a car which drove away, she said, as it was chased by a crowd of students.

“It was crazy,” Linn said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.