Afghanistan vet credits military experience for staying cool while trapping alligator in a trash bin

Stephen Proctor

Eugene Bozzi, the Florida man who went viral earlier for catching an alligator with a garbage bin, appeared on Cuomo Prime Time Thursday where he spoke about the experience. Bozzi, a native of North Philadelphia and Army veteran, invoked the legendary Crocodile Hunter, Steve Irwin, and a beloved children’s game.

Bozzi said he’d only dealt with small alligators up to this point, but when one of his daughters came to get him to deal with this one, “Steve Irwin came out a little bit” in him.

In the video, Bozzi is seen inching closer to the alligator with the bin laying on its front side and the lid pulled all the way back. When the time was right, he flipped the lid closed on the alligator, forcing it into the bin.

“I gulped him up,” Bozzi said. “I treated him like a Hungry Hippo mouth”

Bozzi, who said he loves animals and released the alligator in a nearby pond, credited his military experience for his staying cool and calm in that situation.

“To be under pressure, to not panic, and approach the situation and to finish the task and eliminate the threat so you can make the environment around you safe,” Bozzi said. “That’s kind of what I did in Afghanistan with my other veterans, and I’m proud that I served this country.”

But when Bozzi mentioned that he has seven daughters, Cuomo was left believing that Bozzi has a lot more to deal with than alligators.

A stunned Cuomo, who has two daughters, joked, “An alligator is the least of your problems with seven daughters.”

Cuomo Prime Time airs weeknights at 9 p.m. on CNN.

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