RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A state trooper's decision to stop a driver who flashed an obscene hand gesture wasn't justified, the North Carolina Supreme Court ruled Friday, overturning lower court decisions.

The justices ruled unanimously that the evidence showed Trooper Paul Stevens lacked reasonable suspicion to pull over Shawn Patrick Ellis for disorderly conduct on a Stanly County road in January 2017.

Stevens and a local police officer had stopped to help a stranded motorist out of gas a few days after a snowstorm when Stevens noticed what turned out to be Ellis in another vehicle.

Ellis' back-a...