Why do we play dead in self defense but that’s not recommended in real life?

A lot of animals play dead when they are caught by predators because the predator sees them as dead and loses interest and leaves them alone. In some cases the predator even sees the animal as a dead meal and won’t touch it because they don’t want to risk getting sick from eating a dead animal. This tactic is also recommended for self defense in a real life and drug situation, but we are told not to do it because we will look weird and creepy doing that. Like what’s the difference between playing dead in front of a predator and playing dead in front of a police officer?