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.
Ditto. The house to house search was unnecessary as proven by events. Not to mention your hypothetical hostage situation which ends with dead hostages and perp and maybe a dead cop since house to house is extremely risky.
The reality of the situation is that Joker did drive away, and he led the police to a neighborhood in Watertown
Wrong. There was no pursuit, they lost him. Searching specific houses is legitimate only in hot pursuit.