Black Man Says He Was Dragged By Whites

SLIDELL, La. - Police are investigating the complaint of a black man who says three whites yelled racial slurs and dragged him beside their car in a manner similar to a killing in Texas.

Cornelius Weaver, 23, said he was walking home from a convenience store early Saturday when three men in a passing car yelled racial slurs. The front and rear passengers then grabbed him by the arm and pulled him along for 2 1/2 blocks, Weaver told police.

Weaver, 23, suffered abrasions and bruises when he rolled away from the car after being dragged on Saturday, sheriff's spokesman James Hartman said. "He tells a story that amounts to a hate crime," Hartman said. "We're still investigating, but we don't have much to work with."

Last week, James Byrd Jr., 49, was dragged to death in an apparent racial attack in Jasper, Texas. Three white men are suspects in that case.

On Friday, a 17-year-old black youth in Belleville, Ill., near St. Louis, said three white youths asked him to approach their vehicle and then dragged him by his shirt until it ripped and he escaped.

Weaver told The Times-Picayune of New Orleans that he feared the men wanted to rob him or kidnap him. Weaver could not be reached for comment yesterday.