diff --git a/sys/dev/misc/snp/snp.c b/sys/dev/misc/snp/snp.c
--- a/sys/dev/misc/snp/snp.c
+++ b/sys/dev/misc/snp/snp.c
@@ -540,8 +540,8 @@
 	case SNPSTTY:
 		tdev = dev_from_devid(*((dev_t *)ap->a_data), 0);
 		if (tdev == NULL) {
-			lwkt_reltoken(&snp_token);
 			ret = snp_down(snp);
+			lwkt_reltoken(&snp_token);
 			return ret;
 		}