“Small towns are having this discussion around maintaining the most basic functions of local government, police services being one of them,” said Josh Garcia, the acting town administrator for Blandford.

The town was not without protection from law enforcement on Tuesday. Officials there said officers from the Massachusetts State Police, the local sheriff’s department and the Chester Police Department were helping to patrol the town.

Still, the entire police department’s sudden exit was jarring in Blandford, which is just east of the Berkshires. Residents were already accustomed to spare services at times. Parts of the town have yet to be connected to broadband internet. The elementary school closed years ago, leaving the town struggling to lure young families. And residents have long been used to the sight of state police troopers in town, because the Blandford officers kept only limited hours.

“All small hilltowns understand the fact that the police force is here and there,” said Tammy Mullens, a pet-sitter and dog walker who was taking her grandchild for a stroll near the town offices. “To know what little we had walked out is kind of a shock.”

In an interview, Ms. Sarnacki, the former interim chief, said she and her officers felt they had no choice but to leave. In addition to safety concerns they raised about their cars, she said officers were frustrated because town officials were seeking applications to replace her. And, she acknowledged, there was some concern about the prospect of consolidation with another town.

“I think you take a little bit of the town’s identity away if you take the police department away or move it to a different area,” Ms. Sarnacki said.

Cara Letendre, the chairwoman of the board of selectmen, said Blandford officials had only had preliminary discussions about merging forces, but the idea seemed like a possible solution for an aging town with little industry to fuel a tax base.