How about this. Back off, track with a helicopter until the truck runs out of gas and the bad guys run. Pick them up then.
As opposed to surrounding then and starting a shootout in the middle of a busy freeway, and killing two innocent people.
This was totally botched.
You assume they will behave the way you want. How about they come across a school bus, hold all the kids hostage, shoot the UPS drive3r to show they are serious, and then demand the helicopter stop following them?
Cops don’t have a crystal ball. Or a lot of time to reflect.
So let’s blame the folks who DID cause it: the violent thugs!