diff --git a/services/audioflinger/LockWatch.h b/services/audioflinger/LockWatch.h
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..2d30217
--- /dev/null
+++ b/services/audioflinger/LockWatch.h
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+/*
+ * Copyright (C) 2016 The Android Open Source Project
+ *
+ * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+ * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+ * You may obtain a copy of the License at
+ *
+ *      http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+ *
+ * Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+ * distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+ * WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+ * See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+ * limitations under the License.
+ */
+
+
+#ifndef LOCK_WATCH_H
+#define LOCK_WATCH_H
+
+#include <utils/String8.h>
+#include <utils/Thread.h>
+
+namespace android {
+
+// periodically checks if a mutex can be acquired and kill process otherwise
+class LockWatch : public Thread {
+
+public:
+    static const uint32_t DEFAULT_PERIOD_MS = 10000; // 10 seconds default check period
+    static const uint32_t DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS = 3000; // 3 seconds default lock timeout
+
+    LockWatch(Mutex& lock, const String8& tag = String8(""),
+            uint32_t periodMs = DEFAULT_PERIOD_MS, uint32_t timeoutMs = DEFAULT_TIMEOUT_MS)
+        : Thread(false /*canCallJava*/),
+          mLock(lock), mTag(tag), mPeriodMs(periodMs), mTimeOutMs(timeoutMs) {}
+
+    virtual         ~LockWatch() { }
+
+    // RefBase
+    virtual void    onFirstRef();
+
+private:
+    // Thread
+    virtual bool    threadLoop();
+
+    Mutex&          mLock;          // monitored mutex
+    String8         mTag;           // tag
+    uint32_t        mPeriodMs;      // check period in milliseconds
+    uint32_t        mTimeOutMs;     // mutex lock timeout in milliseconds
+};
+
+}   // namespace android
+
+#endif  // LOCK_WATCH_H