Not let him drive away (possibly over his brother) would have been a good start. It ended up some guy found him in a boat and the only reason it took that long was because the boat owner was forced to stay inside. The cops could sign more permits (they need shall issue).
TACTICALLY
Park their fat asses at the dunkin donuts and wait since that's all they did in the end anyway.
The reality of the situation is that Joker did drive away, and he led the police to a neighborhood in Watertown. Faced with that, and knowing that he was armed and dangerous, what could they have done differently? And I reject the suggestion that parking themselves at a doughnut shop is tactically superior to setting up a perimeter.