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Mayor Bill de Blasio and the Rev. Al Sharpton hugged and heaped praise on each other at a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event Monday their first joint appearance since two cops were murdered and after weeks of angry anti-police protests.

Speaking at Be Like King Day at Sharptons Harlem headquarters, the mayor lauded the beaming preacher for helping curb the NYPDs stop-and-frisk tactics.

Deeds matter in this work, and when it came time to address a broken stop-and-frisk policy, Reverend Sharpton helped to organize that silent march, de Blasio said, referring to a 2012 Fathers Day protest.

And that silent march down Fifth Avenue ... changed this city. It changed the thinking, it changed the discourse, it changed the trajectory of this city, de Blasio told the events 350 guests, who included Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-Harlem) and, by phone, Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

It borrowed from a rich and powerful tradition nonviolent, peaceful social change the essence of what Dr. King was about.

Before de Blasio took the microphone, Sharpton sang his praises.

Bill de Blasio and Al SharptonPhoto: Reuters

We elected him because we felt he believed in the principles we believed in, and he would hear us and regard us and respect us, Sharpton said.

When he decided to appoint Commissioner [Bill] Bratton, he told me, Al, I know he wouldnt be your first choice. But this is what I want to do.

The first stop Bill Bratton made as commissioner was right here on the Saturday after he appointed him. He said, Not your choice, but Im going to do what I believe, but Im going to respect you all, Sharpton recalled.

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De Blasio and Sharpton hug and praise each other at MLK event