diff --git a/services/document-updater/app/coffee/HttpController.coffee b/services/document-updater/app/coffee/HttpController.coffee
index e1b1a57d7b..7ed408cfcd 100644
--- a/services/document-updater/app/coffee/HttpController.coffee
+++ b/services/document-updater/app/coffee/HttpController.coffee
@@ -106,10 +106,21 @@ module.exports = HttpController =
 	deleteDoc: (req, res, next = (error) ->) ->
 		doc_id = req.params.doc_id
 		project_id = req.params.project_id
-		flush = req.body.flush ? true
-		logger.log project_id: project_id, doc_id: doc_id, flush: flush, "deleting doc via http"
+		skip_flush = req.query.skip_flush == 'true'
 		timer = new Metrics.Timer("http.deleteDoc")
-		if flush
+		if skip_flush
+			logger.log project_id: project_id, doc_id: doc_id, "deleting doc skipping flush via http (contents may be lost)"
+
+			# Warning: This action is destructive. Skipping the flush will lose
+			# contents that have not been flushed yet. Use this to fix a document in a
+			# bad state that can't be flushed anyway.
+			DocumentManager.deleteDocWithLock project_id, doc_id, (error) ->
+				timer.done()
+				return next(error) if error?
+				logger.log project_id: project_id, doc_id: doc_id, "deleted doc via http"
+				res.send 204 # No Content
+		else
+			logger.log project_id: project_id, doc_id: doc_id, "deleting doc via http"
 			DocumentManager.flushAndDeleteDocWithLock project_id, doc_id, (error) ->
 				timer.done()
 				# There is no harm in flushing project history if the previous call
@@ -119,12 +130,6 @@ module.exports = HttpController =
 				return next(error) if error?
 				logger.log project_id: project_id, doc_id: doc_id, "deleted doc via http"
 				res.send 204 # No Content
-		else
-			DocumentManager.deleteDocWithLock project_id, doc_id, (error) ->
-				timer.done()
-				return next(error) if error?
-				logger.log project_id: project_id, doc_id: doc_id, "deleted doc via http"
-				res.send 204 # No Content
 
 	flushProject: (req, res, next = (error) ->) ->
 		project_id = req.params.project_id
@@ -212,7 +217,7 @@ module.exports = HttpController =
 
 	flushAllProjects: (req, res, next = (error)-> )->
 		res.setTimeout(5 * 60 * 1000)
-		options = 
+		options =
 			limit : req.query.limit || 1000
 			concurrency : req.query.concurrency || 5
 			dryRun : req.query.dryRun || false
@@ -225,7 +230,7 @@ module.exports = HttpController =
 
 	flushQueuedProjects: (req, res, next = (error) ->) ->
 		res.setTimeout(10 * 60 * 1000)
-		options = 
+		options =
 			limit : req.query.limit || 1000
 			timeout: 5 * 60 * 1000
 			min_delete_age: req.query.min_delete_age || 5 * 60 * 1000
diff --git a/services/document-updater/test/unit/coffee/HttpController/HttpControllerTests.coffee b/services/document-updater/test/unit/coffee/HttpController/HttpControllerTests.coffee
index d816babead..c182727ebc 100644
--- a/services/document-updater/test/unit/coffee/HttpController/HttpControllerTests.coffee
+++ b/services/document-updater/test/unit/coffee/HttpController/HttpControllerTests.coffee
@@ -271,7 +271,7 @@ describe "HttpController", ->
 				params:
 					project_id: @project_id
 					doc_id: @doc_id
-				body: {}
+				query: {}
 
 		describe "successfully", ->
 			beforeEach ->
@@ -295,7 +295,7 @@ describe "HttpController", ->
 
 			it "should log the request", ->
 				@logger.log
-					.calledWith(doc_id: @doc_id, project_id: @project_id, flush: true, "deleting doc via http")
+					.calledWith(doc_id: @doc_id, project_id: @project_id, "deleting doc via http")
 					.should.equal true
 
 			it "should time the request", ->
@@ -303,7 +303,7 @@ describe "HttpController", ->
 
 		describe "without flush", ->
 			beforeEach ->
-				@req.body.flush = false
+				@req.query.skip_flush = 'true'
 				@DocumentManager.deleteDocWithLock = sinon.stub().yields()
 				@HttpController.deleteDoc(@req, @res, @next)