diff --git a/api/client.go b/api/client.go
index ae9e7cef19..b39b102330 100644
--- a/api/client.go
+++ b/api/client.go
@@ -498,8 +498,8 @@ func (cli *DockerCli) CmdInfo(args ...string) error {
 }
 
 func (cli *DockerCli) CmdStop(args ...string) error {
-	cmd := cli.Subcmd("stop", "[OPTIONS] CONTAINER [CONTAINER...]", "Stop a running container (Send SIGTERM)")
-	nSeconds := cmd.Int([]string{"t", "-time"}, 10, "Number of seconds to wait for the container to stop.")
+	cmd := cli.Subcmd("stop", "[OPTIONS] CONTAINER [CONTAINER...]", "Stop a running container (Send SIGTERM, and then SIGKILL after grace period)")
+	nSeconds := cmd.Int([]string{"t", "-time"}, 10, "Number of seconds to wait for the container to stop before killing it.")
 	if err := cmd.Parse(args); err != nil {
 		return nil
 	}
@@ -526,7 +526,7 @@ func (cli *DockerCli) CmdStop(args ...string) error {
 
 func (cli *DockerCli) CmdRestart(args ...string) error {
 	cmd := cli.Subcmd("restart", "[OPTIONS] CONTAINER [CONTAINER...]", "Restart a running container")
-	nSeconds := cmd.Int([]string{"t", "-time"}, 10, "Number of seconds to wait for the container to stop. Default=10")
+	nSeconds := cmd.Int([]string{"t", "-time"}, 10, "Number of seconds to try to stop for before killing the container. Once killed it will then be restarted. Default=10")
 	if err := cmd.Parse(args); err != nil {
 		return nil
 	}
diff --git a/docs/sources/reference/api/docker_remote_api_v1.9.rst b/docs/sources/reference/api/docker_remote_api_v1.9.rst
index def38edd55..27812457bb 100644
--- a/docs/sources/reference/api/docker_remote_api_v1.9.rst
+++ b/docs/sources/reference/api/docker_remote_api_v1.9.rst
@@ -432,7 +432,7 @@ Stop a container
 
            HTTP/1.1 204 OK
 
-        :query t: number of seconds to wait for the container to stop
+        :query t: number of seconds to wait before killing the container
         :statuscode 204: no error
         :statuscode 404: no such container
         :statuscode 500: server error
@@ -457,7 +457,7 @@ Restart a container
 
            HTTP/1.1 204 OK
 
-        :query t: number of seconds to wait for the container to stop
+        :query t: number of seconds to wait before killing the container
         :statuscode 204: no error
         :statuscode 404: no such container
         :statuscode 500: server error
diff --git a/docs/sources/reference/commandline/cli.rst b/docs/sources/reference/commandline/cli.rst
index d398b16e53..757f3b239b 100644
--- a/docs/sources/reference/commandline/cli.rst
+++ b/docs/sources/reference/commandline/cli.rst
@@ -1360,11 +1360,11 @@ This example shows 5 containers that might be set up to test a web application c
 
     Usage: docker stop [OPTIONS] CONTAINER [CONTAINER...]
 
-    Stop a running container (Send SIGTERM)
+    Stop a running container (Send SIGTERM, and then SIGKILL after grace period)
 
-      -t, --time=10: Number of seconds to wait for the container to stop.
+      -t, --time=10: Number of seconds to wait for the container to stop before killing it.
 
-The main process inside the container will receive SIGTERM.
+The main process inside the container will receive SIGTERM, and after a grace period, SIGKILL
 
 .. _cli_tag:
 
diff --git a/runtime/container.go b/runtime/container.go
index 6194a19c8c..bff9aea968 100644
--- a/runtime/container.go
+++ b/runtime/container.go
@@ -903,12 +903,20 @@ func (container *Container) Stop(seconds int) error {
 
 	// 1. Send a SIGTERM
 	if err := container.KillSig(15); err != nil {
-		return err
+		utils.Debugf("Error sending kill SIGTERM: %s", err)
+		log.Print("Failed to send SIGTERM to the process, force killing")
+		if err := container.KillSig(9); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
 	}
 
 	// 2. Wait for the process to exit on its own
 	if err := container.WaitTimeout(time.Duration(seconds) * time.Second); err != nil {
-		return err
+		log.Printf("Container %v failed to exit within %d seconds of SIGTERM - using the force", container.ID, seconds)
+		// 3. If it doesn't, then send SIGKILL
+		if err := container.Kill(); err != nil {
+			return err
+		}
 	}
 	return nil
 }