PSNI Chief Constable George Hamilton said he had been “encouraged” by the level of positive dialogue ahead of this year’s Twelfth.
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A PSNI spokesperson said the metal object was dropped from a auto.
Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness called for any Twelfth of July events to be done in a peaceful way – which would not undermine law and order.
Thousands of extra Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officers will be on duty throughout the region and there are contingency plans in place to call on additional Mutual Aid support from other United Kingdom forces if required.
Last year, homes near Chobham Street in east Belfast had to be evacuated over fears that the giant nearby bonfire could topple on to property.
In other bonfire-related incidents, a pet owner in Antrim said his cat sustained serious burns after it climbed on to a bonfire that was then lit, while Ulster Unionist MP Danny Kinahan apologised after being pictured posing in front of a bonfire which had an Irish tricolour placed on top.
A deal between Orangemen and nationalist residents fell through in recent days.
“Lastly I would like to pay tribute to the officers and staff who I had the privilege of leading”, he added.
The traditional “Eleventh Night” fires mark the start of commemorations of the victory of the Protestant King William of Orange over Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in Ireland in 1690.
Hundreds of smaller feeder parades will also take place with the vast majority expected to pass off without any incident.
More than 3,000 police officers were on duty and there were contingency plans in place to call on support from other United Kingdom forces if required.
A deal to resolve the region’s most volatile Twelfth parading impasse – at the Ardoyne/Twaddell Avenue community interface in north Belfast – collapsed last month.
This year, in what was apparently a pre-planned move, only a dozen members of one of the lodges approached the barrier, with a small number of supporters watching.
After handing a letter of protest to the police officer co-ordinating the operation, they stood with their backs to the railings for over an hour before dispersing.
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Eyewitness reports suggest he was hit by a auto that tried to drive around the parade, as it made its way through the village.
