The Chief Constable of the PSNI has defended the organisation's handling of the funeral of the veteran republican Bobby Storey.
Hundreds of people lined the streets of Belfast in June despite COVID-19 restrictions being in place in place.
The funeral was attended by senior Sinn Féin figures, including party leader Mary Lou Mc Donald and deputy leader Michelle O'Neill.
They subsequently apologised for any hurt caused by the large crowds at the funeral of 64-year-old former IRA member.
An investigation into potential breaches of public health regulations is nearing completion.
Speaking today, PSNI Chief Constable Simon Byrne says there would have disorder had the police intervened in the gathering.
He defended the approach taken to the funeral and said any intervention would have led to "widespread violence".
Speaking to BBC Northern Ireland, he said: "I think it was a fair judgement that if we tried to stop or disperse that funeral on the day we would have seen "widespread violence and disorder and that could have been in nobody's interests.
"We work within the regulations, we work within the practice we would see normally, we've gathered evidence, we've launched an investigation led by a senior officer.
"It's in its end stages and I would hope to be able to tell you very soon that the investigation is finished.
Chief Constable Byrne defended the approach taken to the funeral and added: "I think obviously there's public images and people will draw conclusions about how we went about policing that event.
"We're always here to learn our lessons, reflect and think about what we could have done differently but we're in nobody's pocket, we don't collude with anybody.
"We just have to use discretion which is at the heart of our policing style to enable all sorts of events to take place."
