Kache Fields, an officer with the Metro Transit Police, has a superpower that she uses to catch people accused of crimes. The Southeast D.C. native has been referred to as a “be on the lookout” or BOLO specialist for the last seven years.
Fields has seen it all, from cracking a case of rape to a murder to several robberies and gun charges. She has worked on thousands of cases throughout the Metro system, with the Metropolitan Police Department, and even with the US Marshals Service.
All she has to do is search in her mind for the faces.
According to NCH statistics, various research conducted over the last century agree on one key point: eidetic memory is extremely rare in adulthood. Although estimates differ, most cognitive psychologists agree that fewer than 1% of persons show any verifiable symptoms of true eidetic memory.
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In 2018, a coworker helped Fields identify her abilities.
“I had a mentor by the name of Detective Barlow who introduced me to the skill set due to recognizing one of his notorious robbery kids,” she said.
NBC4 Washington went on patrol with Fields to find out how she does it.
First, Fields closely examines emails that reveal the identities of the people the police are out to find.
“I basically place them in my head and when I’m patrolling my stations – that’s when I see the person and that BOLO photograph comes to the front of my head,” she said.
“You can change your outfit, but you can’t change your face,” Fields remarked.
News4 approached her about her record amount of BOLO stops in one day.
“I have stopped eight people in one day,” she said.
Metro is one of the most technologically and camera-equipped metro systems in the world. However, Fields relies on her imagination.
She explained that she takes her role of protecting and serving seriously.
“I want the bad guys and the bad girls to know: I will find you. But I will also still treat you with respect as well as as a human,” she said.
Fields described her photographic recall as a gift during an interview with WUSA-9, comparing it to the psychic abilities of the classic Disney Channel show “That’s So Raven.”
“I have like a “That’s So Raven” moment, and it’s like a pause, like I’m having a vision… It only takes a few seconds, and once I lock your face in the BOLO memory, it’s locked in,” she said.
“Metro has given me the opportunity to perfect this craft because now I’m able to go learn new patterns for various people that use different lines in the Metro system,” Fields told ABC7 News.
Assistant Chief Stephen Boehm, who has seen her skill in action, told ABC7 News, “In the middle of the conversation, she recognized somebody who had a mask on and was still able to recognize them, and turned away from our conversation, stopped them and we made an arrest.”
“I’ve learned if she says it’s somebody that she wants to stop, go ahead and let her take lead and back her up,” he added.
